US, Sports and Fitness Industry Surpasses $80 Billion in Wholesale Sales

The sports and fitness industry grew 2.8 percent in 2013, representing $81.4 billion in wholesale sales in the United State, according to the 2014 Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report published by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). The $81.4 billion is an increase of almost $10 billion from 2009 when the industry topped $71 billion wholesale.

“Our industry has grown steadily since the Great Recession of 2009,” said VJ Mayor, SFIA’s Director of Communications and Research. “SFIA members continue to focus on the latest technology to drive both equipment and apparel development which is appealing to consumers. The emergence of sport style increasingly incorporated into consumers’ everyday fashion choices also bodes well for our members on the apparel side. Proof of this is best seen in the growth of the fleece/sweat and basketball footwear categories.”

Fleece/sweat grew 11 percent to $1.63 billion wholesale, up $162 million from $1.47 billion in 2012. Basketball sneakers were also a big growth driver in 2013 as the category was up 15 percent ($134 million) from 2012, surpassing $1 billion in wholesale sales for the first time.

The results of the 2014 SFIA Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report, conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys USA, are derived from a combination of aggregated quantitative data that is collected from a sample of manufacturers in a variety of product categories. These raw numbers are then combined with a series of interviews and other industry data. The report provides yearly projections on the health of the sporting goods and fitness industry in over 100 categories dating back to 2009.

The 2014 SFIA Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report is FREE to all current SFIA members and $99 for non-members. More information about the report can be found here

Source SFIA