Sportswear Market Tendencies

Nowadays, retailers are elaborating a new way of thinking concerning the manufacture of women’s sportswear. This phenomenon is a result of the appearance of two new trends in sports fashion industry. These two are: “First, sportswear shoppers are demanding product with more style; second, lifestyle needs are having a greater influence on design and presentation”. By making female sportswear more diverse, the mentioned tendencies present the stores with the opportunity to set up exclusive identities, and to make focus on distinctive features their product provides.

As the casual fashion gets more popular among youths, the sportswear is becoming a most convenient way of being dressed casually. “Active wear has had a definite influence on women’s sportswear and vice versa. In effect, athletic wear is supposed to be specifically functional, but it quickly becomes casual fashion in its own right”. Nowadays each chain of branded clothes seems to realize that women’s sportswear is developing into a more complex proposition. Only those brands that recognize the need for presenting their customers with the opportunity to improve their lifestyles get the chance to stand out in the marketplace and to maintain a strong brand image. “To satisfy the critical need for differentiation, many retailers are trying to develop unique connections that are exclusive to the store, whether through private label, exclusive brands or lifestyle considerations”.

The study of contemporary sportswear market showed that the triumph of women in prestigious and professional sports has increased consumer demand for sportswear designed exclusively for the female body. “As the number of women athletes continues to increase, the female consumer is no longer content to wear men’s athletic apparel in smaller sizes”. Most fashion designers have naturally reacted by including female sportswear into their typical clothes lines, trying to respond effectively to the female athletes’ strive to wear fashionable and secure athletic attire. “But the study also shows that while this cross-fertilization between the women’s sportswear market and the fashion world may be the industry’s greatest asset, it is also its toughest challenge”. The research proposes that women are the major sporting products purchasers, accountable for four-fifths of all athletic clothes purchases. As clothing alternatives and growing choices for the female athlete are getting more under attack, women searching for athletic clothing and shoes are expected to prefer those shopping environments that recognize the clothing requirements typical for both their preferred sport and lifestyle.