Basic Research on the Sports Goods Industry : Industry Structure and Firm Strategies

Abstract

    Sports cannot survive without the support of the sports goods industry, but there has been little research about this industry. In this paper, we discuss some basic considerations about the sports goods industry; the structure of the industry and the strategy of major firms in the industry; and present some financial data. We report the following five findings: First, there are many private companies in this industry, so it is difficult to discuss this industry on the basis of financial data. Second, there is an oligopoly structure in the industry, partly because of the many M&As occurring these days. Third, the major players in this industry, such as Adidas and Nike, are considered to be wholesalers. They don’ t have many assets like factories or retail shops. Fourth, some firms have many goods for many sports, but other firms concentrate on a few kinds of goods or sports, so there are full-line firms and niche firms in this industry. Fifth and finally, some firms operate their business around the world, but others are still interested in their own country, so there are global firms and domestic firms. Discussion of these issues and proposals for future research are also presented.