The sports and fitness industry grew 3.5 percent in 2014, representing $84.3 billion in wholesale sales in the U.S, according to the 2015 Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report published by the SFIA. The $84.3 billion is an increase of over $10 billion from 2010 when the industry topped $74 billion wholesale.
“It’s a good sign when our industry sales growth exceeds national GDP,” said Tom Cove, SFIA’s president and CEO. “Emerging technology remains a key focus of SFIA members, igniting both equipment and apparel developments for the consumer. The growing phenomenon of 'Athleisure' increasingly incorporated into consumers’ everyday fashion choices bodes well for companies in apparel. Proof of this is best seen in the growth of the performance apparel & fitness apparel markets.”
Among the major categories, total sports apparel wholesale shipments grew 4.0 percent to $34.1 billion year-over-year. Category drivers included fitness apparel, up 13.3 percent to $394 million. Performance apparel jumped 7.8 percent, surpassing $1.5 billion in wholesale sales for the first time.
Total sports equipment grew 2.7 percent to $22.8 billion, led by firearms, fishing, camping, golf and football, respectively. In the separate fitness equipment category, consumer exercise equipment grew 4.7 percent to $3.75 billion and institutional exercise equipment increased 4.0 percent to $1.31 billion. Treadmills continue to be the largest selling exercise equipment category by a large margin.
Total athletic footwear shipments reached $14.48 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent from previous year. Running footwear continues to dominate as a category leader with $4.3 billion in 2014 shipments, followed by kids, classics, basketball and skate surf.
