Sportswear in the United Kingdom

PROSPECTS

Social media fitness culture opens doors for smaller sports brands

Many popular brands in British sports culture developed their cult followings through social media. MyProtein and Gymshark are both examples of success stories which began on Instagram.

Performance wear experiences a resurgence

Although sports-inspired apparel and footwear continued to record stronger sales than performance apparel and footwear, the latter continued to perform well in 2018, particularly performance footwear. Nike and adidas have created ranges which are fashionable and unobtrusive enough to be worn as performance wear; consumers get more for their money if they choose a functional sports item rather than the athleisure version.

Sports-inspired footwear drives category growth

Despite the resurgence of performance wear, sports-inspired footwear was the main driver of sales in sportswear in 2018. While sports brand owners may be starting to turn their backs on athleisure, general apparel and footwear retailers are taking full advantage of the widespread casualisation of Western dress codes and the enduring health and wellness movement.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Nike’s historical leading position threatened by the growth of adidas

Although Nike remained the leading brand in sports footwear in 2018, adidas is fast catching up as the gap between the two rivals continued to close. Nike’s share in this category has been declining for several years, while adidas is slowly gaining ground.

Scope for performance wear to drive growth over forecast period if wellness trend continues to thrive

Despite the strength of sports-inspired apparel and footwear in growth terms, it is not fool-proof and so may not stand the test of time over the forecast period. Performance wear could well drive much of the growth in sportswear going forward.

Internet retailing sees fast fashion retailers climb the rankings in sports-inspired apparel and footwear

In 2018, sportswear accounted for around 15% of all online purchases in the UK apparel and footwear industry. It is likely that these purchases were split between clothing and shoes, although skewed towards sports-inspired clothing rather than performance wear.

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