1. Market Segments, Dimensions and Characteristics:

            The athletic footwear market has experienced great growth in recent years, not only in UK & Italy, but all around the world. The UK footwear market has been growing at a good pace, which makes it one of the top athletic footwear markets in the global industry. It has been estimated that revenue for athletic footwear segment is going to increase in 2019 and it will be around $2,945m. The annual market growth rate is expected to be 6.6%, which shows the great success of this market in coming years. However, when overall athletic footwear market is analyzed, it is evident that United States is leading the way with most revenue by any other country. The average revenue per capita is estimated to be $44.15 in 2019. In this athletic footwear market, the kind of shoes included are used for sports purposes such as sports like basketball, tennis, soccer etc (Statista, 2019)

Fig.1 - Athletic Footwear Market Revenue in UK

Source: https://www.statista.com/outlook/11020000/156/athletic-footwear/united-kingdom#market-revenue

            The above figure clearly shows that how UK’s athletic footwear market is growing each year and this growth is expected to go like this till 2021.

            On the other hand, when Italy is compared to United Kingdom in terms of athletic footwear market, the expected revenue and growth from Italian market is looking more positive and growing. As per stats, it has been revealed that the amount of revenue will be around $3,101m for athletic footwear segment in 2019, whereas its annual growth rate would be 10.7%, which is way better than United Kingdom’s growth rate. The average revenue per capita is expected to be at $51.36 in year 2019. These numbers are clearly showing that Italian athletic footwear market is growing rapidly and it is expected have great growth in future.

Fig.2 - Athletic Footwear Market Revenue in Italy

Source: https://www.statista.com/outlook/11020000/141/athletic-footwear/italy

            The above graph also shows that Italian athletic footwear market is going to generate more revenues in coming years till 2021. The current year revenue is expected to be $3,101m, which is expected to be at $3,802m, which accounts for more than 10% growth annual rate. These are positive signs for the footwear segments and dimensions of the market in Italy (Statista.com, 2019)

2. Market Shares, Structure & Competitive Behavior

            It is important to see that what market structure is in the athletic footwear market and how much revenue and share is earned by different market competitors including Italy and United Kingdom. The UK market has been dominated by various top brands of the world.

Figure 3 - Top Sports Shoes Brands in 2017 in UK (Ranking by number of consumers)

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/312998/leading-brands-of-sports-shoes-and-trainers-in-the-uk/

            The above figure shows that leading sports and athletic footwear brand in UK is Adidas it has a greater number of consumers than any other company reaching to 9829 consumers. The second leading brand in UK is Nike with 7920. The other companies which are also enjoying success in UK by getting some portion of the UK’s market share and some of these famous brands are Reebok, Puma, Converse, Slezenger, Dunlop, Fila, Fred perry, K-Swiss, Tiger, Gola etc.

            Same is the case with the Italian market that many international brands are dominating the market with great success in terms of revenue and growth. It is important to mention here that Italy based sportswear brand Fila is one of the top ones in the country, but it has been challenged by various other famous brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma, NB, Under Armour, Reebok, ASICS, and Converse etc. The competition from Adidas and Nike is the most intense one for Fila in the Italian sportswear market (Owler.com, 2019)

3. What does the future look like?

            The future of athletic footwear market in UK, Italy as well as all around the world looks promising in so many ways. The changing trends in the global market are making their impact on other local markets as well, and it can be said that the way companies are innovating with their design and products; the future looks bright for the athletic footwear market. Moreover, the people are becoming more conscious about health and fitness, which is increasing the number of consumers. The emerging role of online shopping is also a key factor along with increasing number of retail stores. The consumers are changing their lifestyle, so it can be said that athletic footwear market will experience more growth (Singh, 2019)

Figure 4

Source: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/athletic-footwear-market

References

Owler.com. (2019). Fila's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions. Retrieved March 2, 2019, from https://www.owler.com/company/fila

Singh, C. (2019). Athletic Footwear Market by Product Types (Sports, Running and walking shoes, Hiking and backpacking shoes, Aerobic and gym wear) and by User (Men, Women, Kids) - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2015 - 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2019, from https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/athletic-footwear-market

Statista. (2019). Athletic Footwear - United Kingdom. Retrieved March 3, 2049, from https://www.statista.com/outlook/11020000/156/athletic-footwear/united-kingdom

Statista.com. (2019). Athletic Footwear - Italy. Retrieved March 3, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/outlook/11020000/141/athletic-footwear/italy