Golf Datatech, LLC, and Yano Research Institute Ltd., two of the golf industry’s leading independent research and data firms, have introduced World Golf Report 2019, the industry’s only global golf retail study.
The 2019 edition of the report, which marks the third overall edition, provides an in-depth global retail market summary based upon geography, size and economic significance of the now $8.41 billion worldwide golf equipment market and the $5.03 billion golf apparel market.
In 2015 Golf Datatech and Yano Research collaborated to introduce the golf industry’s first-ever worldwide market report, a benchmark study designed to capture the true size and scope of the global golf retail market. Now in 2019, the companies have continued to update and expand the report, featuring a broader scope of data points while capturing more complete golf retail sales from around the globe.
“The alliance between Golf Datatech and Yano Research Institute continues to yield new data that speaks not only to the state of the worldwide equipment and apparel markets, but also provides trends and insights that can help companies better react to changes across worldwide marketplaces and adjust their business strategies,” said John Krzynowek, Partner, Golf Datatech, LLC. “As with our previous edition, the 2019 World Golf Report continues to analyze all countries that have a significant golf footprint, providing a wealth of key information, including insights into the Top 10 golf markets, unit sales estimates by country and product line, countries with the most significant business growth and decline, and bonus coverage digging deeply into some of the worlds biggest markets, the US, Japan and the UK.”
Some of the top-level findings of the 2019 World Golf Report include the following:
- The Top 5 World Golf Markets: #1 United States; #2 Japan; #3 South Korea; #4 United Kingdom and #5 Canada
- The US and Japan continues to control over 66% of the world golf equipment market;
- Korean golfers spend more per capita on their golf equipment and apparel than any other country.
Key Findings … Equipment Sales
Total Golf Sales at Retail (Golf Equipment plus Golf Apparel): Equal $13.44 billion in US dollars; dead even with sales in 2014, which totaled $13.44 billion.
Worldwide Retail Equipment Sales: Totaled $8.41 billion in 2018, down 3.5% from $8.72 billion in 2014, but up 4.1% from 2017 ($8.08).
The Four Largest Equipment Economies … the US, Japan, Korea and UK had some of the largest improvements vs. last year, +5.4%, +5.1%, +4.3%, and +4.5%, respectively. The largest increase came in Germany (+5.9%), which still remains the eighth largest equipment market in the world.
Key Findings … Apparel Sales
2018 Worldwide Golf Apparel Sales: Estimated at $5.03 billion US dollars, an improvement of 6.4% vs. 2014 and 1.3% from 2018. Korea, Germany and Japan all had substantial increases in Golf Apparel Sales, +6.4%, +5.0%, and +4.1% respectively. Worldwide Apparel sales for 2018 were up slightly (+1.8%), even though the World’s largest individual market (the US) was down 2%.
Krzynowek adds, “In 2015 the combined equipment and apparel industries had a sharp correction in sales when reported in US dollars, which were heavily influenced by currency considerations. However, the past three years we’ve seen some solid improvements, with sales increasing by 1.5%, 1.7%, and 3.2% respectively, bringing total retail sales of equipment and apparel back to the same level as in 2014. 2018 sales were led by significantly stronger sales in golf clubs, and in particular in irons.”
“This third edition of the World Golf Report is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the golf business around the world,” said Takashi Mizukoshi, President of Yano Research Institute Ltd. “Having accurate estimates of the various worlds’ golf economies is critical to managing and developing business plans across the globe. We believe the World Golf Report provides our customers with great insights which they can use to better run their businesses, regardless of where they are or what products they sell.”
For more information on the World Golf Report 2019, contact Golf Datatech at info@golfdatatech.com or by calling 888-944-4116.