World Cup fever fuels kickstart in soccer goods sales

Discount Store News, August 3, 1992

Among kids under age 12, soccer is no longer a foreign sport, as in the '80s when professional soccer failed to gain a toehold in the United States.

But now, more youngsters play on organized soccer teams, 5.9 million, than on Little League baseball teams, 4.4 million. That keeps the sales growth of soccer equipment running at 15% a year. And it makes soccer the fastest growing team sport on the 1992 Sporting Goods Market survey of the National Sporting Goods Association.

Including soccer apparel and shoes, retail sales of soccer merchandise totals between $400 million and $500 million a year, depending on whose survey estimate you believe.

As another sign of the growing acceptance of soccer in the United States, the World Cup, the world championship of soccer will be held in the United States in 1994. Time Warner Sports Merchandising expects that sales of World Cup 94 licensed merchandise will total $1 billion by the time the cup finals end in August 1994.

As an example of World Cup 94 licensing already hitting the market, Regent introduced its Cup Final 94 soccer ball at the NSGA Sports '92 expo that started Aug. 2. The ball features the team colors of all winners of previous World Cups.

Adidas USA also has become a World Cup 94 licensee and introduced a wide range of World Cup 94 shoes, apparel and equipment at Expo '92. In addition, adidas is the official outfitter of World Cup 94 teams.

A prime trend that is helping to propel the sport is the growing number of girls and women who play. Females account for 39% of soccer players, estimates the Soccer Industry Council of America, an affiliate of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.

Females seeking the "soccer look" buy much of the soccer apparel: baggy shorts, jerseys, fleece and warm-up suits, even though they never kick a ball.

Apparel sales came to $253.7 million in 1991, estimates the NSGA market survey, while shoes accounted for $77.1 million, and balls and other equipment, such as shin guards and goalie gloves added $38.4 million in volume. That comes to a total of $369.2 million that the NSGA conceded is a conservative figure.

The NSGA predicts that soccer shoe sales will grow 15% in 1992 to $89 million, while soccer balls and other equipment will increase a projected 9% to $42 million. Its annual survey fails to project the sales growth of soccer apparel this year.

In contrast, SICA estimated in its own market survey that sales in 1990 his $523 million at retail for apparel, shoes and equipment.

As further evidence of soccer popularity, the NSGA added a Soccer Show to its line-up at Expo '92 and held a seminar, "How to Merchandise Soccer."

The panel members were: Andrew Caruso, president of Kwik Goal, Quakertown, Pa., a soccer specialty shop vendor; Milan Vidakovich, co-owner of Soccer World, a specialty shop in Brookfield, Wis.; and Dan Morgan, vice president of sales for Mitre, Nashville, Tenn., a major supplier to the mass market, such as The Sports Authority.

SICA counts more than 1,000 soccer specialty shops, including Soccer World, Richmond, Va., not to be confused with Vidakovich's store of the same name.

Umbro, one of the best known names among soccer vendors, has pulled back from the mass market in favor of specialty shops.

Umbro canceled contracts this spring with such mass merchants as The Sports Authority and Sports-Town, said Vidakovich's partner, who preferred to remain anonymous.

"Umbro is going back to the soccer stores that made them," he said. Umbro was unavailable for comment.

No specialty store operates as a discounter, said Bob Slocumb, owner of the Virginia-based Soccer World. "I don't think suppliers would like that," said Slocumb, who owns three stores.

"Discounters help us out," Slocumb said, by referring customers who come in for high-end equipment.

Soccer World carries shoes that range from $69 to $119, with $99 the most popular, Slocumb said. "Discounters don't carry high-end merchandise."

The average price of soccer shoes last year was $32.12, the NSGA market survey determined, while soccer balls sold for an average price of $13.89 at discount stores and $16.71 at sporting goods chains. At The Sports Authority, soccer is undergoing "explosive growth," said Bill Lehrburger, director of advertising and marketing. "We do a huge soccer business."

The Sports Authority is enjoying comp store sales gains ranging from 10% to 15%, said Robyn Simon, team sports buyer. Each store devotes 16 linear feet of space to soccer equipment on shelves that range from 8 feet to 12 feet high.

In St. Louis, Mo., a popular soccer market, the three stores are front-loading soccer equipment, with 30% more than last year, Simon said. The stores, which began handling soccer last year, underestimated the sport's popularity and missed a lot of sales, he said.

But the chain doesn't merchandise soccer as a sport, with all equipment, shoes and apparel displayed together, she said. Instead, it carries soccer shoes in the athletic shoe department, along with other shoe categories, and soccer apparel goes on the center floor along with other sports apparel.