SGMA Numbers.. what is driving the growth?

PART II

The most fascinating sport continues to be running.

·        Fueled by “bookend demographics”—running is growing at 50%

·        This number will sky rocket this coming year ironically due to equipment; the hottest trend in running in 20 years is “barefoot” running from Vibram. The “five finger shoes”, featured in the best seller “Born to Run” has formed a category the running shoe companies are calling “minimalist”.  It is flying off the shelf and should be called “maximus” as 1.) you have to be a gladiator to run in these shoes and not get injured  2) built with two napkins and a rubber band, these shoes are maximum profit potential

·        Don’t get me wrong, East Coast City Sports Chain cant keep the New Balance product in store

·        “Bookend” is younger—high school kids whose running programs are being expanded because other more “equipment intensive” sports are too expensive for school districts, encouragement in this less active/ obesity age and the concept of “everyone gets a medal” narcissistic age.  With numerous track and field events, you have a chance for the “look at me”’ generation to participate and win a medal.  Let’s understand that there is only one center in basketball, but there are 4 entries in each heat of the 400 meters and 10 events overall.

·        More fun running events like the surging “Mud Category” of mud runs like the Tough Mudder, Muddy Buddy and Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run Tour are all sold out.  These “mud” runs are 5k up to 10 miles that are run through mud, water and over obstacles.  Kids as young as 5 are doing them! Think it is military crawling along on their stomach in mud? Nope. Average demo is 26 year old women. It is like a Book Club out there

·        The other end of the bookend is the Boomer Set.  The boomers are making things like marathon Runs and Triathlons grow. The once unattainable Ironman—the grueling 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile marathon run—is selling out in 12 minutes in some locations.  The World Triathlon Corporation sold to Providence Equity three years ago, they are building and gobbling up races, consumers can’t get enough and when Venture Capital gets involved with a sport that has 250,000 participants-there must be growth. It is like they have bought Apple at 26 and are running, biking and swimming to the bank. 

So here in the spirit of good or bad sequences, is the big headline; Apple.

The piece of “sporting equipment” that is fueling “low equipment” sports is one item; the I-pod.

Yup.

I was only half kidding when I said that we should stop checking Dick’s Sporting Goods and start checking Best Buy.

If you really look at the SGMA List, the sports where you can use I-pods, I-phones or “I” anything—is growing.   Running, Gym, bicycling etc.

The sports, with regional lacrosse an exception, where you can’t drift off into music outer space. Football, roller hockey, golf, scuba diving etc. that have lots of equipment are all down.  In this “140 Character” age, it is my opinion that people want to put on their I-pod and go …that’s it. No bags of bats, balls, skates or helmets.  Just Lady Gaga.

So where do we see all this going?  Well, you have to call us to find that out.  But in short, we see a lot of outdoor active sports continuing but a hot growing trend is emerging. And yes, you have to have us in to share with you.

But what I can share here is that one of the Top 10 Activities for the older set in the SGMA Survey was “bird watching”.  See… no equipment either.  And you can do it listening to your I-Pod Too. Maybe they download The Counting Crows.

Dan

SGMA Numbers.. What is behind the numbers?

Up Up and Away

PART I 

The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Associations annual Sports Participation Numbers came out recently. This is the data that shows the growth of sports often year over year and current year vs. decade growth. 

This data is most useful in staff meetings and cocktail parties—should you have  friends that are interested that “roller hockey is down 65.3 percent”.

But in some ways, cocktail parties are actually the reason why this data is skewed any way.  See, anyone at a July 4^th party who sticks their toe in a Pool or the Ocean checks “swimmer” on the survey and now swimming is the most popular sport in the country. 

Have you been to your local gym? —Compare the amount of people on the Elliptical (up 7.3 million in the decade).

Speaking of the Elliptical, it seems that Americans are fascinated by things that go up and down vs. across.

We are always fascinated by growth and numbers that go up.   Example is that Triathlon participation is up 63.7 % vs. the prior year. 

And things that go down also fascinate us; the darling of sports lifestyle, skate boarding, is down 30.9 %.

Anything going “across is down”; roller-skating, jet skiing, football, water skiing are all significantly down.

But with this report, people seem to be actually interested in things that literally go up vs. across.   “Cheerleading”—fueled in part by airtime on ESPN, competitions, savvy footwear and equipment marketing and the pop culture aspects of Bring it On and even Glee, has promoted this niche.

While I have been a bit sarcastic in writing this, that is actually the point.  The SGMA numbers are exactly that.  They are driven by the “Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association” and are often in line with the sales of sporting Equipment.

And if you are going to take an insight from this report, it is exactly that.  Here is the real headline, Sports with low equipment instances are growing. 

·        Gym Participation is booming.  Ironically why?  Because you don’t have to buy any sporting good equipment.  The gym has it all for you including the high growth Elliptical and now the hottest trend TRX

·        Similarly is the surge of Yoga—up 23% according to SGMA but up a billion percent for anyone who has tried getting into a Boston Yoga Class.  Again, no equipment.

·        Also fascinating is the (not measured) growth of at home workouts such as P90X and Insanity.  P90X, the infomercial fueled 90 day workout routine—which I have done and is fun, effective and grueling all at the same time—does require one piece of equipment. A DVD Player.  Maybe I should get Best Buy’s Data instead of SGMA?  Actually, P90X does require weights, a mat, training shoes and sometimes a pull up bar—the later selling very well at Dick’s Sporting Goods

·        Similarly, the rage of “Cross-Fit” Center across the country—recently aligning with Reebok—is evidence of this as well. No equipment purchase, we have it all here mentality