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Contents
Report homepage
Contents
Introduction
Executive Summary
Market Factors
Market Size and Segmentation
Sports Clothing and Equipment
Sports Retail Distribution
Organisations and Associations
The Consumer
The Future
Forecast
Appendix
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Outdoor Sports and Activities - Ireland - August 2005
Table of Contents

Introduction

Executive Summary

Four in ten adults participate in outdoor sports or activities

Overall participation growing

Young, male and affluent most likely to participate

Growth for ‘grey leisure’

€759 million spent on sports goods and clothes

Sports retail market consolidation likely

Affluence is clearly a factor in participation

Market Factors

Attitudes towards health and exercise

Figure 1: Agreement with ‘I should do more about my health’, NI and RoI, 2002-04

Holidaymakers to Ireland

Figure 2: Number of people travelling to Ireland, NI and RoI, 2000-04

City living and car ownership

Figure 3: Percentage of adults who own or have access to cars, NI and RoI, 2000 and 2004

Leisure time at home and escapism

Figure 4: Agreement with ‘I like spending a lot of my free time at home’, NI and RoI, 2000-04

Exercise close to home

Figure 5: Membership of sports or health clubs, NI and RoI, 2000-04
Figure 6: Number of sports and leisure clubs, by type, NI and RoI, 2000 and 2003

Population trends

Figure 7: Trends in the age structure of the population, NI and RoI, 2000-10

Under-25s to remain static in NI

Number of 15-24-year-olds to decline in RoI

Growth from 35-54-year-olds

High growth from the grey market

Media attitudes and women’s sports

Market Size and Segmentation

Figure 8: Number of adults who participate in any outdoor sporting activity, NI, RoI and all-Ireland, 2000-04
Figure 9: Number of adults who participate in any outdoor sporting activity, by type, NI, RoI and all-Ireland, 2004

Sports Clothing and Equipment

Total spend on sports clothing and equipment

Figure 10: Estimated expenditure on sporting goods and equipment in Ireland, NI, RoI and all-Ireland, 2000-04

Expenditure on sports clothing

Figure 11: Estimated expenditure on sports clothing in Ireland, NI, RoI and all-Ireland, 2000-04

Expenditure on sporting goods

Figure 12: Estimated expenditure on sporting goods in Ireland, NI, RoI and all-Ireland, 2000-04

Sports Retail Distribution

Figure 13: Major sporting goods retailers in Ireland, by number of stores, NI and RoI, 2005

Champion Sports

Elverys Sports LTD

Foot Locker

Figure 14: Foot Locker Inc, financial performance, 2002/03-2004/05

JD Sports

Figure 15: John David Group PLC, financial performance, 1999-2004

JJB Sports

Figure 16: JJB Sports, financial performance, 1999-2004
Figure 17: Retail sales breakdown of JJB Sports, UK and Ireland combined, 2004
Figure 18: Number of JJB Sports retail stores, by location, 2004

Lifestyle Sports

Figure 19: Lifestyle Sports financial results and store info, 2003 and 2004

Millets

Organisations and Associations

Basketball

Bird watching

Bowls

Figure 20: Bowling competitions in Ireland, 2005

Camogie

Camping

Climbing/mountaineering/hill walking

Cycling

Cycling holidays in Ireland

Figure 21: Cycling tour operators and popular routes, RoI, 2005

Football (Soccer)

Football competitions in Ireland

Figure 22: Football competitions in NI, 2005
Figure 23: Football competitions in RoI, 2005

Fishing

Gaelic Football

GAA Clubs

Golf

Golf competitions in Ireland

Figure 24: List of Ulster championships, NI, 2005
Figure 25: Current national championships, RoI, 2005

Horse riding

Hurling

Hockey

Running

Athletics Association of Ireland

Northern Ireland Athletics Federation

Irish Mountain Running Association

Rugby

Irish Women’s Rugby Football Union (IWRFU)

The Consumer

Growth of outdoor sports

Figure 26: Participation in any outdoor sport or activity in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2000-04

Most popular activities

Figure 27: Activities played or taken part in regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, NI, 2002 and 2004
Figure 28: Activities played or taken part in regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, RoI, 2002 and 2004

Frequency of participation

Figure 29: Activities played or taken part in regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, NI, 2002 and 2004
Figure 30: Activities played or taken part in regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, RoI, 2002 and 2004

Who takes part?

Figure 31: Taken part in outdoor sports or activities regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, NI and RoI, 2002 and 2004

Outdoor sports depend on men

Outdoor sports skewed towards youth

Full-time workers seek escape!

Singles have the most adventurous lifestyle

Participation in team sports

Figure 32: Taken part in team sports regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, NI, 2004

Team sports for single men

Figure 33: Taken part in team sports regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, RoI, 2004

Low female participation in team sports

Participation in individual sports

Figure 34: Taken part in individual sports regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, NI, 2004

Golf appeals to the affluent

Figure 35: Taken part in individual sports regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, RoI, 2004

Bowls – a relaxing sport for the grey market

Participation in activities

Figure 36: Taken part in activities regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, NI, 2004

Cycling and jogging show smaller gender gap

Figure 37: Taken part in individual sports regularly or occasionally in the last 12 months, by various demographic indicators, RoI, 2004

Low affluence = low participation

Sports clothing

Figure 38: Percentage of adults who have bought sports clothing in the last 12 months, by gender, age and socio-economic group,, NI and RoI, 2004

The Future

Participation levels expected to remain static

Growing competition for leisure time means casual, not regular participation growth

Growth for ‘grey leisure’

More women’s involvement needed

Affluent market offers prospects for increasing value

Sports retail market consolidation likely

Forecast

Participation in outdoor sports and leisure

Northern Ireland

Figure 39: Forecast of adults who participate in any outdoor sporting activity, NI, 2000-09

Republic of Ireland

Figure 40: Forecast of adults who participate in any outdoor sporting activity, RoI, 2000-09

Total expenditure on sports clothes and equipment

Northern Ireland

Figure 41: Forecast sports clothes and equipment retail sales, NI, 2000-09

Republic of Ireland

Figure 42: Forecast sports clothes and equipment retail sales, RoI, 2000-09

Appendix

Figure 43: Average weekly earnings, by age group, NI, 1992-2002
Figure 44: Average age of women at marriage and birth of first child, NI and RoI, 1993-2002

Sports teams and associations

Basketball

Figure 45: Men’s basketball clubs in RoI, 2005
Figure 46: Women’s basketball clubs in RoI, 2005
Figure 47: Basketball clubs in NI, 2005
Figure 48: Basketball competitions in Ireland, 2005

Bird watching

Figure 49: Bird watching locations in Ireland, 2005

Bowling clubs in Ireland

Figure 50: Clubs associated with the BLI, 2005
Figure 51: Bowls clubs in NI, 2005
Figure 52: Women’s clubs RoI, 2005
Figure 53: Northern Ireland Women’s Private Green League (NIWPGL) associated clubs, 2005

Campsites in Ireland

Figure 54: Campsites in RoI, 2005
Figure 55: Campsites in NI, 2005

Camogie

Figure 56: Camogie clubs in Ireland, 2005

Climbing/mountaineering/hill walking clubs

Figure 57: Climbing/mountaineering/hill walking in Ireland, 2005

Cycling clubs

Figure 58: Cycle clubs associated in RoI, 2005
Figure 59: Cycling clubs in NI, 2005

Football

Figure 60: Irish premier league teams in NI and RoI, 2005

Golf

Figure 61: Golf clubs and courses in NI, 2005
Figure 62: Golf courses and clubs in RoI, 2005

Hockey

Figure 63: Men’s hockey clubs all Ireland, 2005
Figure 64: Women’s hockey clubs all-Ireland, 2005

Running

Figure 65: Clubs associated with the AAI, RoI, 2005
Figure 66: NIAF affiliated athletics clubs, NI, 2005

Rugby

Figure 67: Rugby clubs, NI and RoI, 2005
Figure 68: Women’s rugby clubs, NI and RoI, 2005