Master stroke

By: Jeff James

Listed Under: Top Story

Published: Friday, August 06, 2010

After a very cold winter, this summer could be the warmest on record in Britain, according to the forecasting company Positive Weather Solutions. If its predictions prove correct, retailers could enjoy high sales of swimwear, with more people heading to the sea or swimming pool.

June, July and August generated 39 per cent of annual swimwear sales in 2009 in the GB market. This percentage is not very high compared to other European countries, where swimwear product seasonality is even more pronounced. Italy and Spain both record over 60 per cent of annual sales during June-August, for example. Nevertheless, these three months remain crucial for the swimwear market in Great Britain, with over £60million spent by the population in a vast array of retailers.

PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR
Interestingly, from June to August consumers’ purchasing behaviour changes, as the type of swimwear purchased by them is different to what they would buy during the rest of the year. Males are more enthusiastic about buying swimming shorts in summer rather than briefs and trunks, whereas females tend to purchase less one-piece suits in favour of bikinis.

Furthermore, people buy more swimwear for leisure purposes than during the rest of the year. In the summer of 2009 54 per cent of swimwear items were bought for leisure purposes, compared to 39 per cent for the rest of the year (see chart), according to NPD’s online consumer panel. This trend gives an opportunity to non-sports retailers like Next, Marks & Spencer and Matalan, which have created their own fashion labels to boost their sales and market share. As for sports retailers, in order to boost sales perhaps they have to adapt their ranges to accommodate more fashionable products.

How does this impact Speedo? Does the company’s sales fall during the summer months? With a comfortable lead over its competitors, Speedo dominates the ‘swimwear used for sport’ market. The swimwear ‘used for leisure’ market is weaker for the brand due to the strong presence of retailers’ own-brand product.

Nevertheless, Speedo’s sales increase in the leisure market over the summer and are far from negligible. Moreover, when we ask consumers why they chose this brand “design and style” was the highest recorded answer in 2009. So Speedo, long associated with sport and the sponsorship of multi-record holder Michael Phelps, could potentially take the number one spot in the swimwear leisure market if it could achieve a balance between selling more fashion items without losing sales of sports swimwear.

MARKET SHARE
Competition between retailers is higher in swimwear than in other sports apparel category. None of the market leaders managed to reach double digit market share in 2009 or 2008, according to NPD’s online consumer panel, which shows how competitive the market is. Sports Direct, JD Sports and JJB don’t dominate this market as they do in other sports categories. Combined, the three of them accounted for only 22 per cent of swimwear value sales in 2009, and this number fell to 19 per cent during summer 2009 when competition was more intense.

One of the common weaknesses of these three retailers in this market is the lack of online revenue they generate. Online sales are constantly growing and represented 16 per cent of total swimwear sales last year. Nevertheless, while Sports Direct generated five per cent of its annual revenue through this channel, NPD figures report the proportion of Next’s internet sales exceeded 30 per cent in 2009.

From sports to ‘non-sports’ stores, from online to retail stores, consumers have a wide range of retailers to choose from. When asked: “Why did you chose this retailer?”, “price” was the most common answer given by consumers who bought swimwear items in 2009. Store location came in second position and the fact the retailer had a good range of products was the third most popular answer. Clearly, swimwear is an extremely competitive market with multiple opportunities; the answer to making the most of this sector is getting the timing right in the right areas.

The NPD Group monitors the sales of sports footwear and sports apparel in many countries around the world. For more information contact The NPD Group sports team on 01932 355580.