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Which brands are particularly popular on SportFits and why? We explore this question in our new Trend Brand Monitor. As one of the largest online sporting goods retailers in Bavaria, we now have 200 renowned brands from the outdoor, camping, bike and winter sports sectors in our range. Over 250,000 products were sold last year alone. We analyzed which trend brands went through the roof in 2023 and the reasons for this.
What criteria are used to calculate the Trend Brand Monitor?
In order to draw conclusions about the success of individual brands and products, we took a closer look at the anonymized purchase data of our approximately 600,000 customers. Which brands achieved a large increase in sales compared to the previous year? Which products were particularly popular and why?
In order to make the figures for 2023 more comparable, we only took into account brands that were already online on SportFits in the entire previous year and achieved an annual turnover of at least 10,000 euros. For the time being, we have not differentiated between small niche brands and large volume brands in this general ranking. But this much can already be revealed: In first and second place this year, two "small" brands prevailed over the higher-turnover "big" brands.
The reasons for the increase within the top 10 brands are manifold: from excellently implemented marketing strategies to exceptionally popular products and optimizations in the logistics chain, everything was included.
Specialists on the winners' podium
1st place: Rudy Project
The most successful trend brand in 2023 is Rudy Project with sales growth of an impressive 313 percent. This niche brand is a huge surprise! The Italian company is known for its functional and high-quality cycling helmets and goggles, which are sold worldwide. The best-selling Nytron and The Wing helmets, which combine stylish design with top performance and aerodynamic properties, were very popular. What made Rudy Project even better known in 2023 was the launch of new Kelion sports goggles as part of the Tour de France. Maximum attention at the world's most famous cycling event.
Outdoor activities such as cycling and jogging have become even more attractive even after the pandemic. Only a small proportion of them wear suitable and functional sports eyewear. Offering high-quality sports eyewear and cycling helmets should be an integral part of a competent sports retailer's product range.Rudy Project stands for excellence in the world of sports eyewear and cycling helmets. The brand is characterized by in-depth production knowledge and the tireless search for material quality. The constant commitment to technological innovation has led it to develop solutions that meet the needs of top athletes and then provide the know-how for everyday products.
2nd place: Level
Level came in just behind the winner of the ranking with an increase of 312 percent. The northern Italian brand is one of the world's leading manufacturers of gloves for skiers and snowboarders, with the Fly and Fly Mitten models, among others, impressing our customers with their perfect protection against the cold and wet. Another reason for the company's continued success is its close cooperation with professional athletes, who win numerous competitions and prizes wearing Level gloves. Level itself is pleased that its measures are achieving positive results and says about the enormous growth of SportFits:
Level’s growth at SportFits is a result of our commitment to innovation, quality, and sustainability. Our Green Choice products and Thermoplus technology provide great solutions for our customers, while our fantastic team and media efforts have really helped raise brand awareness.
3rd place: Hestra
With growth of 297 percent, Hestra is another glove specialist on the winners' podium in third place. The Swedish brand has been producing reliable gloves for outdoor, cycling and winter sports for over 80 years and is currently the strongest glove brand at SportFits. The Army Leather line with a combination of army leather and polyamide fabric is the most popular in our shop. However, it was not only the wide range of fashion and sports gloves that had a positive effect on the strong increase in sales, but also the good availability for reordering, so that a large selection was always available for our customers.
Hestra is also delighted with last year's results:
A combination of many factors: Sportfists has a very wide range of Hestra products in its range, which is extremely important for us as a glove specialist. In addition, many customers are looking for high-quality products. At Hestra, craftsmanship is paramount and the customer can feel this immediately when he puts on the glove. We look forward to another outstanding collaboration!
The other trend brands at a glance
The experienced heavyweights La Sportiva & The North Face
Other trend brands that have multiplied their sales with us are La Sportiva with 239 percent and The North Face with 173 percent sales growth. Both brands are not only trend brands at SportFits, but are also among the top brands in terms of absolute sales figures. For these two brands in particular, the digital connection to the manufacturers' inventories has proven its worth. In this context, the long-term analysis of sales by our specially developed ERP system also came into play, allowing us to increase the number of popular products and remove less popular ones from the range.
Scandinavian design and targeted marketing at Houdini
Sustainability pioneer Houdini made a strong impression last year with its clean design and extremely high-quality products – typical of the Swedish brand. As a pioneer of sustainable innovation, Houdini is particularly popular with customers who attach great importance to environmentally friendly products. In combination with targeted marketing campaigns on SportFits, which focused on specific products and Houdini's latest collections, an impressive sales growth of 216 percent was achieved.
The outdoor experts Outdoor Research & Helly Hansen
With Outdoor Research (+ 176 percent) and Helly Hansen (+ 112 percent), two top-class outdoor outfitters are also among the trend brands at SportFits. At Outdoor Research, the availability of special niche products, such as one-man bivy tents or sun hats, was the main reason for the increase in sales figures. Helly Hansen consolidated its position at SportFits as a hip, fashionable urban outdoor brand.
Always popular: Puma
The only German brand to achieve significant sales growth at SportFits is Puma with 123 percent. The company's high profile, as well as its collaboration with numerous clubs, successful athletes and well-known influencers, are helping Puma's fashionable and high-quality products to become even more popular.
Equipped for adventure with Exped
The Swiss outdoor specialist Exped (+116 percent) is the only brand in our ranking that does not offer clothing, but instead focuses entirely on high-quality outdoor and camping equipment. The sleeping mats and camping pillows in particular have recently been in high demand at SportFits.
Not only positive developments
In addition to winners, every ranking also has a few losers who were unable to repeat their success from the previous year. These included Pyua on SportFits in 2023. The young, very innovative and sustainable brand had to file for bankruptcy and has thus said goodbye to the market. Many a camping outfitter, whose sleeping bags and water filtration systems were in high demand during the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, also had to contend with a drop in demand.
Further analyses
In the next step, we will also analyze specific areas such as individual sports, product categories and seasons. In future, we will regularly examine our sales figures from different angles in order to obtain even more precise results on the development of the brands in our store and the corresponding movement on the sporting goods market.