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Germany
For More Information about exporting to Finland contact:
Tommi Venemies
Commercial Assistant
U.S. Embassy Copenhagen, Denmark
+358-9-6162-5291
Current Market Trends and Demand
The U.S. introduction of tariffs on sporting goods products manufactured in certain countries outside of the U.S., as well as imported raw products (steel and aluminum), has impacted the price competitiveness of products such as bicycles, footwear, and boats being sold to Europe. At the same time, a study by Deloitte showed the increasing willingness of customers to spend more money on sustainably produced and environmentally friendly products. In their survey across Central Europe, Deloitte discovered that more than half of the customers surveyed paid between 8 and 20 euros more for a qualitatively equivalent, but sustainable product.
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The recent ISPO Re.Start Days conference (https://www.ispo.com/en/ispo-restart-days) demonstrated that even the managers of the sporting goods industry are unclear what exactly the sports industry will look like in the future when considering the impact of Covid-19. In the current situation, there is a need to look from week to week and constantly develop further. The consensus is that the megatrends of health and sustainability are gaining in importance. Digitalization is also one of the growth themes, now intensified by the crisis.
In mid-May 2020, the German Soccer Bundesliga (DFB) was the first major sports league in the world to resume playing. The DFB-organized 3rd Division, the DFB Cup, and the Women's Bundesliga have also been up and running again for some time. The German Basketball Bundesliga BBL followed in early June as the first major indoor sports league. Without fans, professional sports cannot survive in the long run. In order to guarantee the temporary continuation of professional sport in Germany without spectators, the professional leagues in soccer, basketball, handball, volleyball and ice hockey have joined forces to form the interest group "Teamsport Deutschland" and have appealed to politicians for financial support. At the beginning of June, a package of 25 billion euros in bridging aid was passed.
Although professional football leagues are playing again, only about 50 of the more than 80,000 football matches that are normally played every weekend in Germany have taken place. This demonstrates the scope of the impact still underway in a country were the football culture is extremely important.
At the beginning of April 2020, an Intersport dealer survey on sales expectations for 2020 showed a double-digit decrease in sales for the months of March and April alone compared to the previous year. This assessment has been confirmed in real sales. Sales through ecommerce increased significantly compared to the previous period, but the drop-in sales in brick and mortar retail could