Cycling is now number one global sports market - BikeRadar

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NE WS

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cycling-is-now-number-one-glo...

By Richard Peace (/author/richard-peace/) & in Yorkshire (/author/in-yorkshire/)

October 08, 2011 7:00am

Cycling is now number one global sports

market
Sales topped 33bn in 2010

Bike sales are now big business (What Mountain Bike)

Cycling is now the biggest sporting goods market in the world in terms of revenue, according
to a survey by multinational market research company NPD Group (https://www.npd.com
/wps/portal/npd/uk/home/%21ut
/p/c5/hZDJcoMwAEM_yWYLcDS47NBCyLBcPFDWgnFJKQn5-sCtl7bS8Y1GI4Ec7J6KtW-

LpWdTMYIU5CdiuJKkrHAmQp3grYFRcVxNT5EcOfZD65gAx5cic4Rz0MI_0k7IG9HVu49iZFtMv7yW4x04mRv1v1FNsngTecB
vqprl3wnbzm0).
Global sales totalled nearly 33 billion (US$46bn) last year an increase of four percent on 2009. Some
137 million bicycles (including electric bikes) were sold, with the average price estimated at 179 ($249).
Cycling accounted for 15 percent of all sporting goods revenue.

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Back in August the London School of Economics published a similarly encouraging report (/road
/news/article/cycling-gives-2-9bn-boost-to-british-economy-31416/) on the economic value of cycling in
the UK, calculating that the country's GCP or Gross Cycling Product was around 2.9bn, or 230 per
cyclist.
Analysis from the US seems to conrm a positive economic picture there too. Industry revenue rose to
$5.94bn in 2010, up from $5.68bn the year before an increase of 4.6 percent and a return to 2008
revenue levels, according to the 2011 US Specialty Bicycle Retail Study compiled by Jay Townley of the
Gluskin Townley Group (http://www.gluskintownley.com/).
The NPD report their sixth Global Sport Market Estimate covers the sale of bikes, parts, accessories,
rental, maintenance and cycle clothing (/gear/category/clothing/). It shows there were seven countries
in which the sporting goods market exceeded $10bn in 2010 the USA, Japan, Germany, China,
France, UK and Italy.
The survey comments specically on the electric bike phenomenon, saying: Electrical bikes have yet to
prove that they're a mass market product in Western Europe (with the exception of some countries
such as the Netherlands). We believe what's missing is a touch of glamour on the bikes, and they're
expensive in comparison with traditional bicycles.
"So, the interesting question is at what level of price will demand for hybrid (/gear/category/bikes
/hybrid/) technology products start to rocket and hit the mass market, and when will this happen? This
is probably around half the current prices (the psychological price is certainly below 500) and the
turning point is probably still a few years from now.
The NPDs cycling survey is for sale and includes data broken down by region and by nation for all
countries in the world. For more information, visit www.npd.com (http://www.npd.com).
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