According to the Canadian Sporting Goods Market Report, distributed by SGMA, sales continue to increase for our neighbor to the north, growing to $7.5 billion in 2007 from $7.4 billion in 2007. The estimate includes sales of sporting goods equipment, sports clothing/activewear and athletic footwear.
In recent years, the Canadian sports market has been growing at a steady rate — $6.9 billion in 2004; $7.0 billion in 2005; and $7.4 billion in 2006. Equipment accounted for the largest portion of sales in 2007, approximately 55.2% of the market or $4.14 billion.
The report shows that independent sporting goods retailers are still a force to be reckoned with in Canada, accounting for 70.2% of the market. However, the three largest sporting goods retailers are Canadian Tire, Sport Chek and Wal-Mart.
