Polish Sports Equipment Market Dominated by Bikes and Bike Accessories

Thanks to new data released from PMR, it has been revealed that the sports equipment market in Poland is currently dominated by bikes and bike accessories. Of the market’s value as a whole, bikes and bike accessories contribute around 20%. A part of wider analysis from PMR, it shows that Poland is still very much keen on cycling as a hobby as well as a sport. Not only are people spending money on bikes, they’re complementing them with accessories too.

In 2018, expenditure in this area almost broke PLN 1 billion; with cycling still so popular in Poland, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that this accounted for almost one-fifth of all spending. In total, Poles spent PLN 4.7 billion on sports equipment, which is itself around 45% of the wider sportswear and sporting goods industry. Compared to just equipment, the latter also includes shoes and clothing.

Cycling on the Rise

In the same PMR survey, six in every ten admitted to taking part in cycling over the past year. Furthermore, around 33% of people said that they spent money on bike accessories in the same time period. Of all sporting goods, bike accessories are the most commonly mentioned sports equipment niche.

In terms of the finer details and demographics, it seems the largest audience is men between the ages of 35 and 54. Surprisingly, 30% of all respondents in the survey said they wanted to buy a new bicycle, and this suggests that the trend isn’t yet over.

Why is cycling so popular? Experts believe the changing urban infrastructure is one reason since cycling is easier than ever before. With more and more cycle paths being installed around Poland, this mode of transport is finally accommodated. In Warsaw, for instance, GUS say there’s nearly 600km of cycle paths. Meanwhile, others trying to catch up are Krakow, Wroclaw, and Poznan.

The statistics mentioned in this article came from the Sports Goods and Sportswear in Poland 2019 report from PMR. The report also contains forecasts and analysis for the period between 2019 and 2024.