The UK sports- and underwear market

Abstract

Pierre Robert Group is a Norwegian company, which specialises in regular underwear, in addition to sports underwear. The company is currently represented in Sweden and Finland, as well as in their domestic market. Pierre Robert Group wishes to explore the possibilities for a future expansion into the UK sports- and/or underwear market. The purpose of this report is to explore the UK sports- and underwear market in order to ascertain the most appropriate strategy for Pierre Robert, if they were to enter the UK. Secondary data, mainly from Mintel and Key Note databases, was used to gain enough knowledge about the research objectives, while primary data was conducted to obtain unexplored information, through a survey, semi-structured interviews and observations. Relevant theory is applied throughout the report in compliance to Pierre Robert‟s situation. The competitive analysis shows that the UK underwear market is highly competitive, and fairly overcrowded. The underwear market has an enormous extent, which makes it difficult to break down in narrower segments. On the basis of this, the underwear market was regarded as to large for Pierre Robert to handle, and the UK underwear market was therefore excluded from further discussion. The sportswear market is predicted to grow in the forthcoming years, with a peak in 2015 at £4.89 bn. This market-increase has resulted in several non-sport retailers widening their clothing lines, and includes sportswear. The sportswear market has become more quality conscious, and the consumers tend to be willing to pay for it. Findings show that females in the age 21-44, within both mainstream sport and active leisure, would be an appropriate target group for Pierre Robert. This group is an opportunity for Pierre Robert, as it gives the company an ability to tailor its offerings, and provide wool underwear in addition to the sports underwear. Nike and Adidas are strong players in the sportswear market, so it is important for Pierre Robert gain a strong position. By entering an untraditional retailer, and build a strong brand,Pierre Robert may be able to enter the UK sportswear market with success. An agent will be the most suitable entry strategy as this can provide Pierre Robert with a great extent of market information