Do you like sports? Do you know how to start a sporting retail store?Do you enjoy playing sports or following sports and have a certain interest, have you decided to share this passion by opening a sporting goods store? But you really don’t know where to start or how to make this project close to your heart a reality?

Good news, you will find useful information in this article to help you get started with opening a sporting goods store: market research, business plan, franchising, or independent business,…here we review how to start a sporting goods store Complete all the steps before going to a sporting goods store.

If you are starting a clothing retail store and looking store fixtures or shopfitting, Ant Display offers the best displays. Here below are the basic ideas for starting a retail sporting shop.

Good Health in Sporting Goods Retailing

Today’s sports market in France represents 37 billion euros or nearly 2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). As for the sporting goods distribution market, in 2014 it generated a turnover of more than 10 billion euros, according to the French National Federation of Professional Sports and Leisure.

This reason in particular explains the sport’s success among older adults and women. If we notice an increase in the number of licensees in sports federations, we also notice that sports clubs are also invested by young retirees and women are tirelessly playing multiple sports.

Advantages of the sports industry market

France has important assets to gain a dominant position in the sports market.

First of all, sports are the favorite pastime of the French (study of the Directorate-General for Enterprises of the Ministry of Economy and Finance).

Furthermore, France benefits from an industrial structure driven by leading international companies such as Oxylane, Rossignol, Salomon, Babolat, and even Petzl, as highlighted in the study on the challenges and prospects of the sports industry in France and abroad. The partnership between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Sports.

Types of players in sporting goods distribution

The practice of sports is becoming a strong trend, accompanied by a real passion for the outdoors. Sportswear is supporting the growth of the industry, and brands and even luxury goods should continue to support the rise of this sporting goods market.

However, if success seems to be there, be careful, as competition is fierce, and small independent traders who are already few in number should see their numbers become even rarer as the market is concentrated on the big specialist brands.

For those of you who want to start a sporting goods store, this means doing market research before you start is essential. You need to study the dynamics of establishing a regional level to verify that there is enough demand to allow new entrants to enter the market and find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Define your sports store concept

Once you have conducted market research for your sports store, you will have to rely on the data collected to define its commercial positioning.

You can choose a general store, a store that specializes in sportswear, or even a sports store that specializes in individual sports, such as running.

This choice will depend in part on the type of stores that are already established near you: if you already have 3 general stores, it may be in your interest to choose a specialty store to stand out from the competition and make it easier for you to position yourself in the local market.

Of course, you can also take over an existing sporting goods store, although this option may be less common.

Opening a sports store: independent or franchise?        

One question you also have to ask yourself when choosing this concept is whether to open an independent or franchised sports store.

Before deciding on one structure or the other, keep in mind that joining a group of brands allows you to offer the main brands negotiated by the sourcing center and benefit from recognition. So opening a sporting goods store as a franchise seems like the easiest option.

Opening a licensed sporting goods store can give you hope to get started faster and get a good return on your investment, thanks to a concept that has proven its worth. However, this comes with costs (entrance fees, annual fees) and a certain loss of freedom, especially in terms of what you can offer.

Staffing needs of sporting goods stores

In addition to materials and equipment, you must also consider the personnel needs of such projects.

• You need to consider the size of the team required for your business to run smoothly. This will especially depend on the required hours of operation and the size of your business area.
• You also need to plan how to recruit and train employees. Your salespeople need to understand selling techniques and movements in order to be able to advise your customers, who are often very concerned about buying the product that best fits their practice.
• The administrative part can quickly become very time-consuming, to free up your time, do not hesitate to subcontract part of it, for example with an accountant.
• To better gauge, the budget needed for these different expenses, consider asking for quotes from several suppliers.

Business plan for a sporting goods store

Once you have a marketing plan in place, you can devote your full attention to the sports store’s business plan. Form the clothing mall kiosk to retail store fixtures, all the commercial furniture must contain in the business plan.

The business plan will enable you to ensure that the project is financially viable and will serve as a reference document for seeking financing. In a way, a business plan is your company’s resume. It must be concise, accurate, and convincing.

If you’re not sure how to create a business plan, you can choose to use online business planning software.

That’s it for this issue, hopefully, this article has given you a better idea of how to start a sporting goods store. Let us know if you still have any questions. If you think this article might be of interest to those around you, please share!