The Development Trend of the Sports Industry in Spain

The annual turnover of the global sports industry is between 550 billion euros and 630 billion euros, accounting for 1% of global GDP. Spanish sports stars have emerged in large numbers, forming a complete supply chain from manufacturing plants, corporate companies, sports clubs, league sponsors to advertising and other upstream and downstream industries, driving the popularity of sports throughout Spain, and the demand for sports goods in the market is growing steadily. In addition, because Spanish consumers have changed their private leisure time usage habits, they are enthusiastic about outdoor sports on holidays and weekends, pushing the Spanish sports goods market to its peak again.

Sports output value ranks first in the bicycle market:

In terms of sports types, the bicycle market is the bulk, accounting for nearly a quarter, reaching 1.549 billion euros. Secondly, in order of popularity, there are a total of seven sports including running, mountaineering, and football. In terms of major sports products, the top three best-selling products are sports and leisure footwear (42.57%), textiles and clothing (36.77%), and sports accessories (8.93%). There are 1,000 Spanish sports industry companies, 40% of which are clustered in Catalonia, with 78,000 employed people. Among them, 47.16% of Spanish companies are Spanish manufacturers, 44.33% are importers of international sports brands, and 8.51% are Spanish domestic manufacturers and importers of international sports brands. The per capita expenditure in the sports industry reached 141.87 Euros, an increase of 25.6% over ten years ago, and the average household was more than 350 Euros. The sports market contributed 2.4% of the output value to Spain's national finance.

COVID-19 has severely set back Spain's overall economy and caused a social crisis, which has changed the ecology of the sports industry. Not only has more than 4,700 sports centers and gyms in Spain been affected but public and private sports venues in 8,000 Spanish cities and towns have also been affected.

Overview of changes in the lives of Spanish people in the post-epidemic era:

• The COVID-19 virus has affected and changed the way of life and work of mankind at a lightning speed. The epidemic has caused companies to move their workplaces from offices to residences, and the prevalence of remote work, remote medical care, and remote teaching significantly drive the demand for related information communication and network equipment.
• People who cannot go to work far away have changed their commuting habits to avoid infection. They abandon public transportation and use electric scooters or electric bicycles to commute. In Spain's major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, there are public shared bicycles and electric bicycles. From January 2019 to early 2020, the demand for electric scooters in Spain has increased tenfold.
• COVID-19 has caused a comprehensive economic and social crisis in Spain, which has undoubtedly changed the ecology of sports and related industries. Spain’s sports population is about 20 million people, of which about 9.5 million are regular sportspeople. Affected by the epidemic, the regular sports population has dropped by 1.4 million. These people have canceled or suspended gym memberships due to the epidemic and turned to at home, follow the free sports video platform provided by the gym, or the paid sports fitness video platform for sports.

The impact of the post-epidemic era on the Spanish sporting goods market:

• COVID-19 has caused ecological changes in sports and related industries. Not only has it affected more than 4,700 sports centers and gyms in Spain, public and private sports venues were also affected.
• Spain's sports industry and its ecology have a significant impact on the Spanish economy: After deducting the revenue from the football market, the annual output value of the Spanish sports goods market is at least 12 billion euros, and the domestic sales of sports goods in 2019 fell by 4.11 billion euros.
• Under the influence of COVID-19, nearly 40% of fitness centers and clubs closed down which caused losses of 4.616 billion Euros. If the epidemic continues to worsen, this means that approximately 42,000 workers in the sports industry will face unemployment.
• Spain’s gyms, sports centers, and clubs were forced to close down, resulting in 1.4 million fewer people regularly participating in sports in Spain. Among them, people who are accustomed to running in the gym go to the park or the street to run, and people who are accustomed to doing heavy training in the gym turn to following YouTube professional fitness influencers at home to exercise with bare hands or with weights. To avoid increasing the chance of infection, people who are accustomed to going to the gym changed to exercising at home. This gradually formed a wave of home exercise, which also promoted the sales of casual clothing or sportswear.

Sporting goods popular in Spain in the post-epidemic era:

1. Smart Watch/Bracelet:
   The Spanish people are keen on fitness. Whether it is running or bodybuilding in the gym or doing aerobic exercises at home, to effectively control the intensity of exercise and cardiorespiratory function, smartwatches/bands were always ranked as best sellers even before the outbreak of the epidemic. The basic smartwatch/bracelet entry-level model is affordable and is popular among the Spanish sports population.
2. Bicycle training platform:
   The Spanish bicycle market has grown significantly. Not only the demand for bicycles themselves, but the demand for bicycle training stations has also risen rapidly. They are hot-selling products whose sales have grown rapidly since the complete closure of cities in Spain, and agents are often faced with the dilemma of being out of stock. As the second wave of the epidemic hit, the demand for bicycle training stations continued to grow.
3. Loop elastic band:
   The ring-shaped elastic band is lightweight, convenient, easy to store, and affordable. People who follow sports video platforms or YouTube online celebrity fitness programs at home are buying them. It is also one of the best-selling products in sports goods e-commerce.

Opportunities and transformation suggestions for Taiwan's sports goods industry in the post-epidemic era:

• In the post-epidemic era, bicycles and electric scooters have great sales potential in the commuting section. In recent years, the demand for electric scooters has increased tenfold from 2019 to 2020. There are bicycle lanes on Spanish streets for bicycles and electric scooters. The government promotes an energy-saving travel culture and grants subsidies for the purchase of electric bicycles and scooters. Due to COVID-19, people are increasingly traveling by bicycles or electric bikes.
  In recent years, in response to the trend to electric bicycles, the bicycle culture has penetrated the general daily life of people and become one of the main options for transportation. The number of bicycle users in Spain is growing rapidly, and the number of bicycle users between the ages of 12 and 79 is approaching 20 million. The cycling trend in major cities in Europe and Spain looks prosperous. In recent years, Spanish bicycle manufacturers have been customizing consumer products to achieve market segmentation, which is suitable for Taiwan bicycle manufacturers' high-quality and high-unit-price routes.
• The electric bicycle market has developed rapidly in recent years, with annual sales in Europe reaching 3 million units. With the development of science and technology, because the efficiency of motors has increased and the endurance of batteries has increased, the acceptance by the public has increased. The Spanish market is no exception. The government plans to launch a subsidy program for the purchase of electric bicycles and electric scooters to achieve the goal of reducing pollution. With COVID-19 becoming increasingly severe, people seeking self-protection avoid public transportation as much as possible. The bicycle and electric scooters markets continue to look optimistic. Taiwanese manufacturers can use this trend to promote business opportunities for cooperation between parties. This is a good time for Taiwanese sports merchants to benefit from the Spanish market.