Olympic Games Attract Big 5 Sporting Goods and Decathlon

As China's success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, sports economy has become China's a new focus of economic development. This makes a new upsurge in sporting goods market. China's sporting goods market had annual double-digit growth rate in a high-speed since 2000. To 2004, the size of the market reached 4.2 billion U.S. dollars. At the same time, China is the world's largest sporting goods manufacturing base, each of about 60 percent of the world's sporting goods are manufactured in China. It is expected to 2008, China's sporting goods market will reach 6.2 billion U.S. dollars. China is also strongly encourages physical exercise. There are nearly 400 million Chinese people participated in various sports activities, and this number is also growing again, for China's sporting goods market has strong demand. So, this market be foreign sporting goods retail giants' coveted inevitably.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV)

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV), together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of sporting goods in the western United States. BGFV offers athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories, as well as a selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding, and in-line skating. The company also offers various private label merchandise, including shoes, apparel, golf equipment, binoculars, camping equipment, fishing supplies, and snowsport equipment. Big 5 Sporting Goods sells private label merchandise under its owned labels comprising Court Casuals, Golden Bear, Harsh, Pacifica, Rugged Exposure, South Bay, and Triple Nickel, in addition to labels licensed from a third party, including Body Glove, Hi-Tec, and Maui & Sons. As of December 30, 2007, it operated 363 stores in 11 states under the 'Big 5 Sporting Goods' name. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in El Segundo, California.

Decathlon Group Stores

Decathlon is the World wide leader in full range sporting goods retailing with more than 250 super sports stores and about 20,000 employees in 20 countries such as Italy, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Germany and China Decathlon purchased MVP Sports in October 1999.

Originally Posted: China Business Daily
Author: Angulo Fu