Key takeaways:

• Challenger brands are thriving: As legacy brands focus on survival, smaller players are gaining ground by prioritising innovation, connecting authentically with sports communities and engaging with beneficial sport-fashion trends.
• Unlocking new consumer segments: Inactive and underserved demographics present major growth opportunities for brands willing to invest in data-driven and user-centric product development.
• Innovation remains a differentiator: Authentic performance technologies and technical athleisure offerings can help brands stand out in a competitive market, balancing function and fashion to attract both athletes and lifestyle consumers.

The annual health check of the sports & outdoor sector published earlier this month; the Sporting Goods 2025 report ultimately diagnoses renewed optimism despite the challenges ahead.

Its release marks its fifth publication in as many years. Developed by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and McKinsey & Company, it highlights opportunities and pitfalls for the industry to navigate over the next 12 months. These pointers, sentiments and projections are aggregated into five key trends, with 2025’s edition drilling down into market dynamics and consumer focuses.

These were further explored in the partnership’s webinar earlier this week (17 March), joined by Alexander Thiel, Eric Falardeau and Pamela Brown of McKinsey and Emma Zwiebler of the WFSGI.

What could their findings, insights and projections mean for the textile & apparel value chain? WTiN’s sports & outdoor lead, Jessica Robe, drills down into the key takeaways and explores several action points interlinking these trends.

Sporting Goods 2025: Breaking down the key themes
Let’s first dive into the report’s five key themes [1]:

1. Rethinking the value supply chain and chasing elusive growth
Compound annual growth across the industry is expected to lower to 6% from 2024 to 2029, reflecting