The purpose was to evaluate the sporting goods retail industry.

Essay by Dusky323College, Undergraduate April 2007

download word file, 22 pages 3.8

What is the industry? How do you define it? What is the main product or service of the industry?The Sporting Goods Stores Industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in retailing new sporting goods, including apparel and equipment for fishing, hunting, hiking, golf, tennis, baseball, basketball, football, biking, rollerblading, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, skiing, and hockey; along with playground equipment and exercise/fitness equipment, athletic uniforms, athletic apparel for men, women and children, specialty sports footwear and other sporting goods, equipment and accessories. These products are sold at sport stores and superstores. The key characteristic of the sporting good industry at the retail level is selling products generally without transformation. According to the NAICS overview of the industry, the retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise. Products are sold in small quantities to the general public, which occurs either directly from a store location or indirectly with non-store retailers.

The competitive structure of the sporting goods industry is that of monopolistic competition, where there are many competitors offering easily substitutable and slightly differentiated products. Competition is very intense among retailers and is highly fragmented with the number of competitors increasing even more in the athletic footwear and apparel sectors. For retail stores, competition exists in the arenas of customer service, assortment of brand name merchandise, ease of shopping and competitive pricing. Prices for equipment, footwear and apparel continue to increase marginally, specifically for the sports that remain in favor with the population at large.

What are the industry's dominant economic features?The sporting goods retail industry is a massive business world wide and has a market growth rate of about 3-4 percent annually. In all nations people like recreation and require necessary items to fullfill these needs thus making the industry quite stable. The scope of competitive rivalry is...