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Industry newsCan tennis beat the recession?Aug/ Sept 2009Worldwide, tennis is gaining popularity and the trend seems to be repeated here. But, is it only gaining ground amongst the aspirant Federer’s and Nadal’s, or is tennis also growing at grassroots level? FANIE HEYNS investigates
It ain’t pretty any longer, as they say in the classics. The economic recession has affected everybody, from the rich to the poor. Yet, there are a few sectors that have remained unaffected and have sailed untroubled through category 5-storms while the international economic downturn has affected millions. The sales of tennis goods, for example, have remained on par, while sales in many other sectors have dwindled. There is, however, some disagreement amongst distributors if the growing interest in tennis (see below) has been converted into a growth in sales. The improved profile of SA tennis has been a factor in the increase of sales, says Brett Burnill, a director of Leisure Holdings. “The state of SA tennis has been healthy the past six years,” he adds, and more people are probably taking up the royal game. He says Prince has had a very good year with an overall increase in unit sales. The new Prince EXO 3 Rebel, popularised by the athletic and iconic French player Gael Monfils, is selling excellently internationally. Monfils (22) this year again reached the quarter-finals of the French Open after eliminating Andy Roddick. As in the semi-finals of the tournament in 2008, he again fell prey to the eventual winner, Roger Federer. Injury prevented him from competing at Wimbledon. The flamboyant Caribbean player has a large following among the youngsters because they like his attitude and the way he dresses, says Burnill. “Our rackets are selling very well in the recreational racket price range between R500 and R1 000,” continues Burnill. “Although, there will always be a place for the top of the range rackets that are selling for close to R3 000.” The spotlight on tennis has not necessarily grown sales, especially not at the top-end of the frame category, “but there are increased sales in the intermediate category, where most of the activity takes place,” says Steve Gallienne, national sales manager of Super-Brands, supplier of brands like Dunlop and Slazenger. Overall, tennis sales remained pretty static during the past year, with most activity in the price points below R1 000, he says. That indicates that players are making the more expensive frames last longer, and are restringing their frames more frequently than replacing them. “Certain brands will still benefit from the dedicated player wanting the latest cosmetic frame to keep up with their hero player,” he says. “Junior frames are still showing a slight growth, but it is always difficult to have an accurate measure of sales figures across brands when statistics of frame sales are not monitored by any specific body. “If one looks at the international economic downturn and the affect on all type of industries, we in tennis should be very satisfied with our growth,” he says. Jerome Goslett, MD of Omni Sport, agrees that the SA tennis market has grown the past year, while he believes the international market is slightly down from previous years. “The market place is certainly buoyant. Other brands have also said that things are looking positive for them,” he adds. Goslett says the fact that there are some lights on the horizon in terms of young up and coming SA players in the ATP and WTA might have aided the local companies in growing their products. Andrew Wentzel, director of WET Sports Importers, paints a more sombre picture of tennis sales. He says: “To date we have not seen a great increase in demand for tennis rackets but we have found that accessories and strings have sold well. I think the economic climate being tough, people are rather restringing their old rackets than going out to buy a new frame. “In our RoxPro brand the main focus is on value for money entry level and intermediate rackets and there is always a market for that. We have found that the racket market in general has been quiet this year and chatting to retailers it would seem that the market for tennis is depressed. “Obviously, it is difficult to say whether we will see growth towards the end of the year when the season starts up again, but only time will tell.” Renaissance of SA tennisThere has been a determined and major effort by the SA Tennis Association through Ian Smith (the CEO) to get tennis back into one of the top-three sporting codes in the country, says Bruce Davidson, executive chairman of the BLD Group, former manager of Amanda Coetzer and current manager of the SA Davis Cup player Jeff Coetzee. The SA Open was the springboard and its success at Montecasino created a bigger awareness of the game and excited the audience. Then there were back to back challenger events, including a women’s event in Soweto, that created a lot of awareness. The SA Davis Cup team has been on a winning streak and will go into the match against India (from 18 to 20th September at the Arena at the Wanderers in Johannesburg) with a good chance of winning at home and catapulting SA into the World Group. “There is a lot of interest in this and our country like to back a winning national team,” says Davidson. SATA’s great work in securing several big tennis events for SA, where the public can see the local and international stars, has been a major factor in increasing the visibility and profile of local tennis, concurs Michael de Jongh, national operations director of ASG Sport Solutions, a member of the executive board of SATA and a former coach of Martina Navratilova. TV coverage of these events, as well as the increased coverage of the ATP- and WTA tours, bring the game into the lounges of the public. “The interest in tennis is definitely growing because of more tournaments being hosted in SA. Three Davis Cup-matches have been hosted in SA and that created more interest in the game locally, says Steve Gallienne, national sales manager of Dunslaz Distributors, supplier of Dunlop and Slazenger tennis.
Nadal and FedererDavidson adds that the intense rivalry between Nadal, the undisputed king of clay, and world number one until Wimbledon 2009, and Federer, winner of fifteen Grand Slam-titles, have sparked new interest in tennis. “Roger is a hero amongst all sport lovers, not just tennis lovers,” he says. “Nadal has also done wonders for the game. His spunk, energy, youth and looks have captured the imagination of all sorts of people. Yes the rivalry has played a major role.” This rivalry is the greatest in the history of men’s tennis, according to many pundits. The five-set Wimbledon final in 2008 between these two giants of modern-day tennis was described by the legendary player and commentator John McEnroe as the best tennis match ever seen, and was an instant classic. Federer is the main driving force behind the sale of Wilson rackets, says Brett Summer of local distributor The Golf Racket. “Sales are driven by kids who strive to be like Federer. He is a tremendous draw because he is so well liked.” He also has a strong SA connection through his mother, who regularly visits SA, and he has a tennis development programme in the Eastern Cape. Wilson is aware of the selling power of a Federer and scouts have already identified youngsters on the junior circuit earmarked to be the next Federer, says Summers. (While Nadal has done a lot for the sales of Babolat rackets internationally, the restricted distribution of the brand here would have limited sales.) The SA Open has also injected new business interest into SA tennis and the securing of the Key Health sponsorship of R8-m has encouraged more sponsors to consider the game of tennis as a possible investment, adds Davidson. Tennis audience figures are up, according to ESPN, Supersport and the tennis channel. Even the SABC, who have given tennis the cold shoulder for the past ten years, have decided to cover the Soweto Challenger. They made the approach to SATA to buy the rights, which is positive for SATA and the local game. “With SuperSport taking the rights out on the women’s WTA Tour, we are seeing more of the women’s game on TV and the women’s game is in a very healthy state with so many hopefuls, top stars and depth, says Davidson. “This is important. The beautiful players have also caught the eye of the male sport fan, even though he is not a major tennis fan. The Williams sisters have increased enormous awareness in the black communities.” Women’s tennis in SA has always been fairly strong, and if one thinks back to the Spar Women’s Doubles event, it has assisted women’s tennis, says Gallienne. “Beautiful women do stimulate viewership and do encourage people to go and either upgrade frames, or enter the sport.” “To a certain extent the appearance of beauties like Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova have also helped to increase the popular appeal for the sport, but that has been overshadowed by what is happening in the men’s game. Internationally woman’s tennis, apart from the Williams sisters, is not particularly strong at the moment,” says Brett Burnill of Leisure Holdings, distributor of Prince.
The hometown boysThe continued success of local players like Wesley Moodie, Jeff Coetzee, Kevin Anderson and Liezel Huber and Cara Black, the success of the hometown-boys of the SA Davis Cup team, as well as the increased coverage of home ties, have also been significant factors in raising the profile of tennis. Leon Freimond, manager of junior tennis of SATA, says there has definitely been a bigger demand for participation in national coaching courses. SA is a respected player in junior international circles, and the 70 junior tournaments hosted officially by this country, a few of them international events, certainly plays a role in securing a live interest at junior level. SA is also an annual participant in the Junior Nike Tour, which culminates in an annual masters championships in which some of the best U12 and U14 boys and girls contest a non-official championship of the world. One of the previous champions in the U12 and U14-section was Nadal. “An initiative like the International Tennis Federation’s Play and Stay, currently being rolled out in SA, is always great to get the younger players into the sport and grow with it, says Gallienne. Play and Stay makes tennis more fun, adds Summers. “Where in the past people who started playing tennis lost interest because they couldn’t hit a ball, they can now actually play a game.” Coaches registered with SATA have to do a Play & Stay course — but the problem is that many coaches are not registered with SATA, he says. About us | Contact us Sports Trader | Tackle Trader | Directory | Promotional publications Sports Trader is published bi-monthly by Rocklands Communications If you have comments or suggestions regarding this website please contact the webmaster |
