THE STATE OF THE SPORTING GOODS INDUSTRY TODAY

People today are focused on keeping themselves fit and healthy, while the rest are keen on making it to the big leagues depending on the sports they are into. Gone are the days when children play games or are into sports just to enjoy or just to keep them physically fit. Nowadays, some parents are urging their children to play a certain sport not only to distract them from being inactive, no thanks to smart phones, virtual games and computers, but also prodding them to make it big someday. This scenario gave an incentive to many sporting goods manufacturers, importers and retailers to cash in on the huge demand for sport equipment, sports gadgets used by players during training and games.

However, an analyst cited that the boom on sporting goods suffered a huge setback lately. According to reports, a major sporting goods retailer suffered a major slump due to over saturation. Excess store growth with growth accelerating over the last couple of years and having low demands for equipment especially high end brands resulted in overstock clearance and surplus wholesale merchandise in retail outlets. This resulted to several branches of these major retailers to close shop, lest they go bankrupt. Despite this move, these sporting goods outlets still have excess overstock clearance on hand and at their warehouse collecting dust. Analysts say these sports retail outlet are simply over stored and this problem affects not only them but also can hurt the manufacturers of the products they are carrying at their stores.

Overstock sporting goods

Another problem that is hounding the sporting goods business today especially sporting goods retailers is e-commerce. Traditional retailers have to store inventories anticipating the demand, but when this does not happen, the result is overstock sporting goods lying around. Adding more problems to these outlets is the new channel wherein people shop today. A simple click on one’s Smartphone allows them to have access to their favorite brands, sports equipment, gadgets and the likes. Unlike traditional retailers, this digital platform has less operational expense (OPEX) and enjoys lesser inventory level.

Manufacturers, importers and retailers having large quantity of fly fishing closeouts, overstock sporting goods or closeout hunting gear, often contact closeout buyers, sports liquidators or wholesale liquidators. They know that stale dated merchandise is like money sitting in a checking account, not earning them interest. Also this wholesale merchandise is just sitting in their warehouse taking up valuable space that could be put to better use. They realize from experience that they must act promptly and liquidate their overstock clearance inventory.

Further hurting this industry is the move by major players and manufacturers. They are now geared towards improving their direct sales to consumers, resulting to sudden downturn for sporting equipment in an already soft demand season. This competitive landscape has indeed made an opportunity for others but hurt some.

Traditional retailers of sporting goods, clothes, fitness gear and other sports equipment are struggling as more children in the country and adults play sports but opted to buy fashioned-focused athletic apparels.

Hurting the industry further is the influx of cheaper imported brands. Usually these brands came from Asian counties like China, India and Bangladesh where labor is relatively cheaper, and when it hit stores, more expensive brands are left hanging. Lastly, counterfeits are slowly making into the market, killing legit brands. So good are the counterfeits nowadays that it is really hard to detect, which again results to genuine overstock sporting goods sitting at the warehouses.

Closeout store

Vendors will try and contact various national closeout buyers and merchandise liquidators to rid themselves of their wholesale merchandise. One of the largest wholesale liquidators is AAA Closeout Liquidators, a trusted and well known closeout buyer, in business since 1979. They specialize in quickly purchasing wholesale merchandise, overstock clearance and bulk inventory for cash.