Head N.V. is establishing the main–hub of its European Sportswear Division in London, where it expects to fill product management and communication/PR management positions in coming months.

 

The Dutch sporting goods company is taking back its European sportswear business from a licensee this year.

 

“We believe that Head´s technical, innovation driven product philosophy combined with the inspirations of a mega trend city like London will create great product and help us to differentiate from the competition,” the company reported in its 2011 annual report.

In 2011, Europe accounted for 60.1 percent of the company’s. Sales to customers in North America accounted for 25.2 percent and sales to Asia, mostly Japan, accounted for 10.0 percent of sales while Other Markets, including Latin America, Africa and Australia, accounted for the remaining 4.7 percent.


Head also updated its esttimates of the wholesale market for its products. It now estimates there are approximately 50 million skiers and 8 million snowboarders active worldwide and that the market for winter sports equipment in 2011 was approximately €900 million at the wholesale level.


The estimate consists of €310 million for 3.2 million pairs of skis, €150 million for bindings, €230 million for boots and €210 million for snowboard equipment, including 900,000 boards. Europe accounted for approximately 65 percent of the world market in 2011, the United States and Canada approximately 26 percent and Japan approximately 9 percent. The snowboard market is led by North America, followed by Europe and then Japan.

Head’s estimate of the market for tennis racquets in 2011 was approximately 8.4 million units at a wholesale value of approximately €300 million. The company estimates the market declined in 2011 compared to 2010 of 5 percent and 6 percent in units and value, respectively mostly driven by declining markets in the United States and Japan. Sales of tennis balls were approximately 23.1 million dozens at a wholesale value of approximately €195 million. While the unit volume remained unchanged since 2010, the value of all products sold was slightly higher in 2011.


In the Diving market, Head estimates the worldwide wholesale market in 2011 was approximately €400 million. The company believes that the diving market was declining in 2011 in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), flat in Asia and growing by around 5 percent in the United States.