Last year’s soap opera in the sportswear market seems to have calmed down to a gentle afternoon drama, but the battle for share and survival in the sector seems far from over.
The leaders, Sports Direct, gave a solid full year update this morning, helped by weaker competition and the World Cup, even though England’s exit from the tournament came sooner than expected.
JJB Sports continues to struggle along with some improvements in place but by no means with a clean bill of health and Blacks, despite its restructure and refinancing has started its year with weaker than expected sales as the usual wet British weather that it relies on made way for weeks of glorious sunshine.
In all of the retailers updates one theme has been clear, working more with brands and securing more exclusives to tempt shoppers is a key focus.
Blacks is planning exclusive lines for brands such as North Face, JJB is trying to tie up more exclusives and if reports are to be believed, Sports Direct is struggling to secure some exclusives due to the run down nature of some of its stores.
However on the conference call this morning Sports Direct chief executive Dave Forsey was keen to highlight key training initiatives it was doing in partnership with Nike, including a training academy by its head office.
He also said it was unclear what the bigger brands would do on pricing once VAT goes up in January.
Brands are gaining more control over the sector than ever; it was brands that stopped Mike Ashley bidding for Blacks earlier in the year saying they would boycott the chain if there was a takeover by the Sports Direct founder, and subsequently North Face built up its stake defensively in the outdoor specialist.
How JJB works now with its brands could be the making or breaking of its recovery story and as JD Sports Fashion has proved, strong relationships with your brands and key exclusives can really appeal to the young fashion market and drive sales.
Despite the hype around the World Cup there seems to be an even greater opportunity coming up with the London Olympics and if some of the weaker players have managed to get their houses in order there will be a real and interesting battle played out and those who will be left on the winner’s podium still remains unclear.
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