- Global leader in luxury and fashion LVMH is official sponsor of the 2024 Olympics and newcomers Lululemon, Ralph Lauren and Skims enter the arena to join giants, Nike and Addidas, kitting out athletes
- Sportswear is expected to benefit from the Paris Olympics and sponsorships around the event with a forecast global growth of 4% in 2024
- Olympics are a boost for women’s health with more taking up sports such as hiking, cycling and running
- Games are a chance for drinks companies to make waves fostering consumer engagement but is expected to have little impact on volume sales
LONDON, UK – The 2024 Paris Olympics is expected to go swimmingly for the fashion, luxury, health and drinks industry boosting sales across the board, according to Euromonitor International experts.
Sportswear will be in the spotlight at the Games and is set to benefit from the worldwide television audience and sponsorships with a forecast global growth of 4% in 2024 versus 2% for overall Apparel and Footwear.
Marguerite Le Rolland, Head of Apparel and Footwear at Euromonitor International, said the event was likely to raise women’s sportswear sales as, for the first time in Olympic history, the Games will achieve full gender parity with women athletes having as many places in the Games as male athletes.
“Many sportswear players are actively targeting women, traditionally less well served than men. Attendance, viewership and fan engagement are on the rise and sponsoring women athletes and teams is seen as the easy way in for brands as we are seeing with women’s football,” said Le Rolland.
Women’s sportswear accounted for USD 143bn globally in 2023, just 36% of all global sportswear sales, despite growing faster than men’s sportswear sales between 2018-2023 (5% versus 3% CAGRs, respectively) as Euromonitor’s Apparel and Footwear report 2024 highlights.
Focus on luxury springboards into the Paris Olympics
Collaborations and partnerships between fashion brands and Olympic teams are nothing new but what is new for this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics is the sheer attention that is being paid to fashion and luxury and those partnerships that will be given the chance to shine on a stage like no other in front of more than one billion people.
Fflur Roberts, Head of Luxury Goods at Euromonitor International, said with global leader in luxury and fashion LVMH as the official sponsor of the 2024 Olympics the benchmark has already been set for other luxury and fashion brands to flex their own muscles and support their national teams.
“The very fact that the 2024 Olympics will be taking place in one of the world luxury and fashion capitals has gone a long way to inspire teams and fashion brands to come together and be more thoughtful about the outfits the athletes will wear.
“While sportwear giants such as Nike and Adidas will still be responsible for most of the kit worn for the actual competitions and sporting events, we are going to see a whole new status quo shaping up for pre- and post-event outfits. Among others, the likes of Armani are working with Team Italia, Lululemon will be supporting the Canadian team, Ralph Lauren will continue its partnership with the US teams and Skims will still be named as Team USA’s official underwear and loungewear partner.
“While the Games are a great marketing opportunity for the key global players in luxury and fashion to show their support and capabilities, such partnerships are even better news for smaller niche fashion brands who have now been given the chance to participate in the Olympics and support their local teams.”
Paris 2024 driving focus on women’s health and fitness
Today, e-commerce accounts for nearly 33% of global sportswear value sales, and the industry’s focus on wellness and women empowerment is set to further boost online sales, as 50% of global women consumers use a phone app to manage activities, exercise, calorie counting.
Le Rolland said: “As seen with the rise of women athletes endorsing beauty brands like England rugby player Holly Aitchison for Clinique, opportunities offered within women’s sports go beyond sportswear, from beauty to food and nutrition, health and tech/appliances.
“Women are taking a pragmatic approach to their mental and physical health and are focusing on smarter ways to optimise their health and enhance how they look without multi-step regimes and invasive procedures.
“As conversations around women’s bodies, periods or contraception evolve, brands increasingly see immense opportunities in developing products and services tailored to women consumers - their bodies, their minds, their rights.”
Le Rolland said that 51% of global women respondents expect to increase spending on health and wellness in the next year, according Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer Survey, 2024.
“Nike has launched Coaching HER, a campaign to educate coaches on how to lead girls and young women in sports.
“ASICS launched a women’s campaign highlighting the positive impact of exercising on mental health after its 2022 State of Mind Index revealed that globally, women tend to exercise less than men, which impacts their mental wellbeing, and Puma has accelerated its commitment to women’s football with an cruciate ligament (ACL) research study. The big sports brands are stepping up their game.”
Big splash or barely a ripple in the drinks industry?
Rob Eveson, Senior Research Analyst at Euromonitor International, has taken a deep dive into assessing the impact of the Paris Olympics on the drinks industry in France.
“The Games can help brands to make waves and generate strong consumer engagement, although the actual impact on volume sales is likely to be limited.
“It's a chance to boost the use and perception of sustainable packaging but, unfortunately, this opportunity will largely remain stuck in the shallow end. I also expect non-alcoholic beer will gain more exposure, although the category is forecast to perform swimmingly regardless of the Olympics.”
For more information see Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer Survey, 2024 and Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer Survey, 2024 reports.
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