Industry news

What grows the swimming accessory market?

Has Swimming SA’s comprehensive Learn to Swim-programme — which has reached more than a million South Africans since its inception — become a formidable ally to the importers and manufacturers of swimming accessories in SA?

Or have these recreational swimmers, who barely use accessories of any sort — especially in poverty stricken rural areas —, had little affect on the sales columns of retailers of swimming accessories?

There is definitely an increase in recreational swimming, says Kevin de Wet, of De Wet Sports. The growth is evident in the increase in sales of the more basic swimming equipment like goggles, caps and swimming aids.

“Our sales in more specialised swimming equipment, traditionally used by competitive swimmers, have, however, remained the same. This leads me to believe that Learn to Swim has resulted in an increase in numbers of recreational swimmers, but not necessarily an increase in competitive swimmers,” says De Wet.

Colin Farrer, sales director of LGB Distributors, local distributor of Zoggs, argues that the Learn to Swim-programme has benefited the swimming industry as a whole, and that it has positively impacted the sales in goggles and other accessories.

“We have certainly experienced an increase in demand for the Zoggs swimming goggle and accessory range and more recently, the introduction of training aids, inflatables and pool games,” he says.

SA is following the Learn to Swim trends in both Europe and Australia — as more children are exposed to swimming, demand for certified instructors and swim schools will increase, which will filter through into a positive impact on sales overall, Farrer believes.

Nigel Prout of Opal Sport, who imports the Swimfit range, also applauds the influence of Learn to Swim for increasing sales of swimming accessories. “It has contributed to a growth in participation number in recreational as well as competitive swimming, judging by the number of swimmers at Level 1 and Level 2 galas and at open water events.

“The whole swimming market is growing. More people are seeing swimming as a non-impact sport and as a great way to exercise.”

Jaco Kirsten, owner of Orbit Sports manufacturers in Port Elizabeth, says he has seen a strong growth in all the floating devices like floating boards, pull buoys and aqua belts.

“During the past six months our sales have almost doubled, but it is difficult to say for certain whether that could be attributed to the Learn to Swim programme, because we manufacture for various retailers and distributors who might supply the programme, but we do not have contact with them ourselves.

In 2008, imported products became increasingly expensive because of the weaker rand, and his business has progressively received more demands because he manufactures locally. He therefore did not have to spend an enormous amount on marketing, as the demand for his swimming products just grew naturally.

Andrew Wentzel, owner of W.E.T. Sports, says they had initially decided to carry some entry level swim goggles, as many of the name brands had more expensive options available. At first they brought in a range of Lion swim goggles (junior and senior) that would retail for no more than R30. These sold well and they then introduced a silicone swim goggle range for juniors and seniors, as well as a silicone swimming cap range.

“We found that the junior models in the silicone swim goggles, as well as the PVC, sold well. I am not sure where this ties in with the SA market and whether Learn to Swim has a direct influence on these sales, but we have found that there has definitely been growth in the junior market.

“We also sell many silicone swim caps — but this may be tied into the fact that you need a swim cap to swim at the gymnasium,” said Wentzel.

Competitive market also growing

“Common sense tells me that if there are additional swimmers, there must be additional sales of goggles and caps,” says Peter Reeves of Leisure Golf, who sponsors Swimming SA through their Arena brand. “On the other hand, goggles and caps are not absolutely essential to being able to swim, if these additional swimmers from disadvantaged backgrounds are not able to purchase these items, the growth will be coming from other sources.”

“We (at Speedo) are not seeing any real business impact from these new potential customers, and I suspect it is more a life skill being learnt, rather than any long term commitment to swimming. The general lack of any available facilities just shuts this door,” says Paul Barrett-Smith, head of Speedo High Performance in SA.

The part of the market serviced by Learn to Swim are at the lower price points and entry level and are therefore serviced more by Game, Dion and Makro, which would supply cheaper versions of goggles and caps, adds Peter Baker of Action-ize, local distributor of TYR. “It is very difficult to ascertain to what degree there was a growth in accessory sales there.

“What the Learn to Swim-programme might have done was to increase the total market, but I do think there might have been a slight drop-off in competitive swimming, which is normal after the Olympic Games.”

Joe Schoeman of Swimming International, importer of Finis swimming products, agrees that while the Learn to Swim-programme creates awareness amongst youngsters to start swimming, it does not necessarily grow accessory sales for higher-end brands. “It comes back to affordability and quality of the product,” says Schoeman. “There are cheaper products available, which will probably generate better sales from this entry level market.”

They have, however, experienced a huge increase in equipment sales, says Schoeman, but that was more from the advanced recreational and competitive swimmers.

The Learn to Swim-programme makes the youngsters water-safe, he continues. The next level that is required is to create awareness amongst coaches and swimmers about products that can assist them to improve to a competitive level and then utilising specific products that will assist one even more, he says.

What drives competitive growth?

With the exception of the last Olympic Games, SA’s swimmers have been our top Olympic performers and they are regular medal winners at world events. Swimming has a sporting code with the highest number of potential medal winners in the elite squad selected to start high performance training in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London (among them, Joe Schoeman’s son Riaan).

Could the exposure of national stars and the impact of international events such as the Olympics and World Championships be major factors in boosting sales of competitive swimming products?

Barrett-Smith says they certainly pick up significant interest at the elite end of the market, but most of this product interest is for specialised technical equipment.

“Does it matter what Speedo goggles Michael Phelps wears? You bet! And we have seen very real growth at retail with this specific Speedsocket Mirror racing goggle,” he says.

However, from a brand building and PR profile, it is impossible to put a real value to this sort of international and hero coverage.

“Having said that, I believe that the biggest single impact that has grown our Speedo business over the past few years has been the Discovery Health/Virgin Active membership package, which has made warm water, twelve months swimming, at an accessible cost, available to a much bigger market — including families,” he says.

The increase in interest and participation in open water swimming has also significantly grown the market (see box “Open water swimming growing”).

“Both these factors have positively impacted on the equipment sales, specifically on the Speedo goggle business. It has not only expanded, but there has also been an upgrading by consumers, who have demanded more of the technology that the Speedo product delivers.”

Baker also experienced an increase in the sale of TYR swimming accessories, and more specifically, in the goggles that were purchased. He estimates that the growth was about 20-25%.

The use of new technology, as well as the styling and design, could have influenced consumers, so it is difficult to know what brought more feet through the door.