The UK falls short when it comes to dominant global sportswear brands. The US on the other hand leads the race with them occupying top spot for decades with giants such as Nike, Under Armour and Lulu Lemon.
Germany Takes position 2.
Germany sweeps into position 2 with Puma and Adidas. Our defining contribution to date was Reebok that muscled into this arena in the 80’s , however this was purchased by Adidas in the noughties who then sold it to Authentic Brands Group.
In recent years, the dominance of these giant brands has become less than stable. Nike is reporting huge loss in sales as consumers become savvy to brands purpose, the corporate behind the product and wanting to buy responsibly or back a brand that supports their niche. Gymshark for instance is now valued at over $1.45 billion and Castore who signed Andy Murray as its ambassador is going from strength to strength, sponsoring many sports outside its roots of tennis, entering football and Formula 1 as team sponsor for Red Bull and McLaren.
Some heritage brands such as Umbro and New Balance are breaking back into the premier league and new brands such as On Running from Switzerland and Hoka are taking huge sales away from the big 3 giants.
There is also evidence that these huge global giant cannot break into certain sports. Sure, they have dominated Running, Tennis, Golf, Basketball but that have zero traction in sports like sailing, ski, boxing or cycling, where consumers are looking to support brands that focus on their niche.
Protect your brand.
Not everything is rosy however. Rapha grew quickly and started to dominate the cycling apparel space, however to do this have damaged their brand value by continually discounting to drive volume, focusing on turnover and dominance rather than building a resilient, strong brand with healthy margins. Other brands within the cycling space are chasing the same dominance and also heavily discounting to achieve this inflated turnover.
There is definitely a seismic shift happening within this field that is allowing smaller brands take a stronger grip on the top step. Brands that have a clearer focus on their niche rather than trying to cater for everyone and driven by numbers and volume.
It’s a refreshing industry right now that has opened the door to start-up’s having an ability to disrupt the market, providing they have a strong brand, great products with a clear USP.
Brand purpose is driving consumers to back brands and buy products. Consumers want to understand what the brand they wear stands for and why they should invest in their products.
VALUES
Values are the core beliefs and principles that guide a brands actions. These values can differ dramatically from brand to brand and could be related to performance, similar to say Nike, however performance within this space has become a given. Consumers don’t expect to purchase a product developed for sports for it to not perform.
Sustainability is becoming a hot topic and many new brands are now focussed on creating a brand that has as little damage to the planet as possible. GRVL, a brand within the offroad, adventure cycle industry has a clear purpose, to protect the trails it’s consumers ride by doing as little harm to the planet as possible by creating sustainable and biodegradable products.
Finding your Brand Values will help define your brand, it’s products and voice and will guide your target consumer straight to your door.
If you are looking to become the next big sportswear brand, then get in touch to see how we can help.
