Winter Sports Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Winter sports equipment market is projected to register a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period, 2022-2027.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, major sports events around the world have been impacted by the novel coronavirus. Various studies have depicted that nearly 80% of winter sports equipment companies suffered declined sales due to the premature end of the 2019-2020 season, with two-thirds experiencing lower than usual sales for winter 2020-21. Further, by the end of the middle of March 2020, countries like Austria, France, and Switzerland closed all of their ski resorts, and holidays for the rest of the season were canceled. The cancelation has directly impacted the ski gear market, owing to the decline in participation from both amateur and professional players.

Over the long term, the market is expected to benefit from the growth of the tourism sector, specifically during the winter, following strong participation from the baby boomers segment. Apart from this, the fusion of gadgets in ice skates, skiing, and snowboarding concerning a strong inclination toward technological innovation and implementation is expected to boost the market for winter sports equipment and gears.

Key Market Trends

Increasing Number of Ski Resorts

The winter sports industry is largely dependent on the snow/winter season, where participation appears to have leveled off or is maintaining slight growth in the matured markets, such as France and Austria, mainland Europe, and the United States. However, there is an increasing interest among citizens of countries, such as Russia and China. For instance, in February 2022, the General Administration of Sport of China disclosed in its press release that by the beginning of 2021, China has built 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts and 654 standard ice rinks in response to growing consumer interest in snow sports.

Further, Austria and France have more than 10 resorts that welcome over 1 million skier visits per season. The size of resorts has also changed since consumers' interest in covering more distance and area in a day has witnessed massive growth. On the other hand, the increase in the inflow of tourists has led to a surging demand among people to opt for ski equipment, thereby pivoting sales​.

North America Holds the Largest Share

The prominence of sports activities, owing to health and wellness trends, the increasing influence of social media, celebrity endorsements, and the rise in international sports events encourage people to engage in sports activities including ice hockey and skiing. In the United States, ice hockey is very popular in the northeastern and upper Midwest regions. The NHL is a major professional hockey league in North America. It has around 24 US-based teams and 7 Canada-based teams. In addition to these professional players, a large number of players in the region are registered members of the federation. Globally, Canada and the United States account for the largest number of registered ice hockey players.

Skiing has evolved into a booming recreation industry over the past century, owing to the partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and privately owned ski resorts. Also, every year about millions of visitors ski and snowboard down the snowy slopes of the ski resorts spread across the White River National Forest, and at ski resorts in forests across the nation. Furthermore, developments by the ski associations in the country to support skiing sports have propelled the market growth.

Competitive Landscape

The global winter sports equipment market is competitive with a strong presence of regional and global players like Anta International, Fischer Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, BAUER Hockey LLC, and Groupe Rossignol, among others. Major companies are heavily investing in R&D activities to provide technologically advanced equipment across the target market. For instance, Clarus Corporation, the parent company of ski gear and equipment brand Black Diamond, invests around USD 9-10 million every year in R&D activities, which is around 4-5% of its total revenue generated. Furthermore, new startups are focusing on social media platforms and online distribution channels for online marketing and branding of their products in order to attract more customers.

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