Purchase Behaviours
The nature of the purchases
of athletic wear has significantly changed in recent years. There has been
enormous growth in the industry as customers see versatility, performance, and comfort
as more important. People no longer wear athletic clothing for only athletic activities,
and as a result, is increasingly becoming fashionable as the health and fitness
trend spreads globally. In fact, from 2008-2014 athletic wear was up 4.1%
whereas non-athletic apparel was only up 0.2% during this period, indicating the boom of active wear in the apparel market as a whole.
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| Diagram from Global Industry Analysis, Inc. The Global Sports and Fitness Clothing Market Trends |
Market Analysis
As outlines in this
diagram from Global Industry Analysts, Inc., this growth is being driven by consumer’s
emphasis on active & healthy lifestyles, media coverage induced popularity
of adventure sports, growing affluence & increased per capita spending, and
rising number of health clubs.
As a result of changes
in purchasing behaviours, active wear is in the growth phase of maturity. The global
market for active wear is projected to reach US $196.2 bullion in 2020. This
growth is the outcome of increasing awareness over health and fitness, rise in
income levels, and westernization of lifestyles around the world. It is predicted that the Asia Pacific market is the fastest growing market at 7.1% CAGR in 2015.
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| Diagram from Global Industry Analysis, Inc. The Global Sports and Fitness Clothing Market Trends |
Non-active wear companies are now being threatened by athletic
wear brands. Competition is tough as companies are having difficulties specializing
in just clothing for athletic activities for everyday and need to think about how
customers are wearing their clothing in different ways. Non-athletic companies
have changed their productions and clothing lines to add and incorporate this
new trend in athletic wear. An example of this is the Gap, who launched their
athletic wear line called “GapFit” in 2014 and is now a key player in the athletic
wear industry.
Value Drivers
In such a competitive
market, in order to drive value, company’s need to focus on the degree of activeness
and quality. Companies that produce clothing that appeal to not just the sport
users but still remain sporty in terms of its comfort and versatility, will attract
a wider range of customers. Quality also plays a huge factor as companies will
be able to identify themselves from competition in the market and achieve a
competitive advantage by providing a higher degree of quality.
Visual and Narrative Codes
Marketing and
communication strategies have contributed largely to the trend towards athletic
wear. The aim of many of the brands in the market is to reach a large
population of target customers, and to create perceived value towards their
brand. Athletic companies are doing this by informing and teaching customers
about the importance of being active and living a healthy lifestyle. This narrative
is contributing to company’s goal of appealing to a wider audience and to
incorporate their brand in customer’s everyday lives. Nike, in particular, uses
celebrities to represent the ideal customer. By illustrating influential
personalities, including athletes, wearing the Nike brand, customers are more
motivated to buy product as they see their favorite celebrities wearing the
brand and want to be just like them. Most Notably, Nikes “Just Do It” slogan is
likeable and relatable to customers as it motives customers to get up and get
active.
Market Segmentation
When it comes to the sportswear industry, it is found that
there is a large market in this industry, and this large market is segmented in
different ways based on geographies, genders, functions, behaviors, populations,
etc. The market is divided into different segmented market and each segmentation
targets different audiences so as to better create unique values for consumers,
and develop specific marketing strategies. Nike is the largest sportswear brand
in the industry which leads the sportswear market, followed by Adidas and Puma,
all of which have a variety of market segmentations. Accompanied by the fact
that an increasing number of people involve in different sports activities and pay
attention to lifestyle, more and more sportswear brands are committed into
segment the market based on different lifestyles such as adventure, health, technology,
etc. The changes create a potential opportunity for brands to target the
emerging market. Nike also has divided the market based on lifestyle, and it
targets the football players and basketball players. Moreover, it also attracts
the consumers who maybe do not play sports but will purchase its products
thanks to fashion lifestyle.
Competitors
The large market is doomed to attract much more brands to
develop business activities thanks to the large audience base. Nike, Adidas,
Puma, Asics, New balance, and Reebok are all the main competitors, which all
plays a leading role in the market. Although Nike and Adidas are the two biggest
leaders in the sportswear industry, there are a great many other brands that
target narrow market segmentations and achieve better performance. Fred Perry
and Lacoste both are strong and successful model of narrow brand positioning.
The biggest difference between the narrow brand positioning and wide brand
positioning lies in the fact that they pay attention to different segmentation
and target audiences. They take advantages of different brand strategies and
marketing activities to build different brand images, and create different
values and experiences for their consumers. Fred Perry are good at build a
strong bond with consumers through connecting music and subculture with
sportswear. Lacoste build a fashion brand image to attract its audience.
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