Wonder

Activewear Industry

Delivered July 17, 2019. Contributor: Alexis Z.

Goals

Provide a full analysis of the activewear market including the market size, market trends, customer demographics, retail channel distribution, marketing trends, brand analysis, and market challenges/opportunities. 

Early Findings

Market OverviewActivewear is "utility apparel, used to enhance the performance of athletes which improves the body movement."
Activewear product segments include tops, bottoms, outerwear, swimwear/innerwear and others. The market is also split into women's activewear and men's activewear. 
The activewear market is also segmented by fabric type including polyester, nylon, neoprene, polypropylene, spandex, cotton, and other (rayon and lyocell). 
 Yoga pants and leggings are a leading product category for the activewear market. 
Market SizeThe global activewear market was valued at $351,164 million in 2017 and is expected to reach a value of $567 billion by 2024, with a CAGR of 6.8% over that time period.  
The women's activewear market was valued at $119,078 million in 2017.
 North America is the leading market, followed by the European market, Asia-Pacific market and finally the LAMEA region. All regions are currently seeing growth in the activewear market segment.
The US market accounts for 36% of activewear sales worldwide. 
Market TrendsThe global activewear market is seeing growth due to an "increase in disposable income and rise in fitness consciousness customers."
The use of "green textiles and manufacturing" practices is a trend for activewear products. 
The increase of "ready to wear" activewear products ("athleisure") is a key trend for the market, as it becomes more acceptable to wear activewear products as casual wear. 
Customer Demographics Millennial women with incomes over $100,000 per year are the largest consumers of activewear in the US.
Retail Channel DistributionMost sales are through offline distribution channels, however, the growth of e-commerce globally is increasing the growth of online distribution channels. 
As for offline channels, activewear is generally sold at hypermarkets, specialized stores, and mono-brand stores.
Marketing TrendsThe use of experiential retailing is one trend in marketing for activewear brands. Lululemon, Nike and Adidas all utilized experiential marketing in their stores in the last year. 
 Influencer marketing has been extremely effective for new entrants in the activewear market like Gymshark. 
Brand AnalysisMajor players in the activewear market include Adidas AG, Asics Corporation, Columbia Sportswear Company, Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. Gap Inc., Nike, Inc., North Face, Inc., Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, Puma Se, and Under Armour, Inc.
Fashion brands not known for athletic wear are entering the activewear market including Topshop, H&M, Forever 21, Net-a-Porter and Matches.
Market Challenges/Opportunities Counterfeit products are a major concern for activewear brands. 
Additionally, the "volatile cost of raw materials and high cost of designing" are a challenge for the market because they increase final product cost.   
Market opportunities include plus size and sustainable products. 

Proposed next steps:

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As the initial research only touched on each topic area, we recommend continuing the research to provide a full market analysis. This will include: - a market overview of the global activewear market providing a definition of the market, key product segments, and distribution channels. - an industry leader list showing the top activewear brands globally by market share. - a list of the top emerging activewear brands globally by revenue or market share, as available. - a market size showing the market size from 5 years ago, the current market size and the future market size for the global activewear market, as well as broken down by region, as available. - a market growth analysis showing the current growth rate for the global activewear market, as well as broken down by region. - a trends report, showing 5-7 trends in the global activewear market. - a marketing analysis, showing 5-7 trends/themes in marketing for global activewear brands - a demographic analysis of activewear consumers including age, location, income, gender, education level and marital status. - a psychographic analysis of activewear customers including hobbies, interests, motivation, purchase habits, and their media consumption habits. - an industry analysis describing challenges and opportunities in the global activewear market.

Alternatively, we could begin by researching only a few topics in order to provide a basic understanding of the activewear market. This would include: - a market overview of the global activewear market providing a definition of the market, product segments, a list of retail channel types and a list of key brands. - a market size showing the current and future market size as well as growth rate for the global activewear market. - a trends report, showing 5-7 trends in the global activewear market.