The Croatian sports equipment market has growth potential and a specific line of sports
Sports equipment chain Hervis sold goods in the value of 24.9 million Euro in Croatia last year and managed to make 58,600 Euro in profit, Tportal.hr writes on June 21, 2016. Despite growing competition, income in 2015 grew by 5.6%. They currently have 13 stores and employ 250 people, with seven new stores to open in the next three years.
“There are many sports stores in Croatia, even more than in other European countries. Besides Hervis, there are Intersport, Sportvision, Decathlon and many smaller, specialized sports retailers. Every new competitor on the market means the market changes, unless the total volume of demand grows,” explains Aleš Černe, director of Hervis for Croatia and Slovenia.
“We operate in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania and Germany. The differences are great, particularly in the type of sports people enjoy. The most popular in Croatia are football and other team sports (basketball, handball) and cycling. Outdoor sports are most popular in Austria, such as mountaineering, running and skiing. Skiing is actually popular in Croatia too, but the number of sold skis is actually insignificant. Running is becoming more popular in Croatia, but this trend is coming late.”
“From experience we can say that the strongest season in the Alpine countries (Austria, Germany) is winter, while in Croatia it is summer. Slovenia and Austria for example sell plenty of mountaineering equipment, while in Croatia it is less popular. An average Croat spends around 60 Euro annually on sports equipment, a Slovene some 75, while in Austria the average is significantly higher than 100. The Croatian market has growth potential as sports, recreation and a healthy lifestyle are becoming more popular.”
“There is naturally growth potential in Croatia, proven by our numbers. Out of 470 million Euro income in the six countries of Hervis Group in 2015, Croatia accounts for 28 million, while Slovenia for 44 million. The sports equipment industry is highly developed in the world, from the megalarge such as Nike, with annual sales of 20 billion USD, to smaller specialists with 100,000 USD income.”
