France is a nation of sports lovers, and both participation in and interest in sports is strong amongst the population. Sports such as cycling, swimming and walking/rambling are particularly popular given the cultural and physical makeup of the country. As such the French sports goods market is the largest of the countries covered by Mintel and has grown by 21.6% since 1999. Indeed, while sports equipment’s share of the market dropped below the 50% mark for the first time in five years, interest in sports clothing as casualwear has increased in the French market, driving its share of the market up to 34.0% in 2004, against 29.9% in the previous year.

The specialist sports retail sector recorded sales of €7,892 million in 2004, up 3.5% year-on-year, which was a significant slowdown on the rate of growth seen in the previous four years, which had hovered around the 6% mark. The French specialist sector is highly concentrated, with the top five retailers taking more than 55% of the market in 2004.

About Mintel’s report

Pooling together the latest market analysis and most sort after trend data, Mintel’s report offers you a fresh and independent understanding of the market and its retailers Use Mintel’s research to inform your investment decisions in the market, guide operating strategy and to:

Gain fresh insight into the French sports goods market, its value and trends, its channels of distribution and the factors affecting it

Identify the forces that serve to encourage or restrict market growth

Gather in-depth information about consumer target groups, including a demographic breakdown of key target markets

Compare French consumer trends and typologies with European consumer information

Explore the market performance of specialist and non-specialist sports goods retailers operating in France, including Décathlon, Foot Locker (Europe), Groupe Go Sport, Groupe SED (Twinner/Technicien du Sport), INTERSPORT International Corporation, Sport 2000 International

Evaluate leading retailer’s operating strengths and weaknesses and their threats and opportunities, according to Mintel’s expert analysts

Discover ‘what’s next’ for the French sports goods sector with in depth forecasts put together by Mintel’s skilled analysts.

Intriguing findings include:

French people spent €142 per head of population on sports goods in 2004, considerably ahead of levels seen in Spain, Italy and Germany, and just behind the Netherlands.