DANISH MARKET FOR FAIR (AND SUSTAINABLE) SPORTS BALLS

DANISH MARKET FOR FAIR (AND SUSTAINABLE) SPORTS BALLS

Trade for Development Centre BTC (Belgian Development Agency) Author: Facts Figures Future Managing Editor: Samuel Poos Cover : BTC, Belgian development agency, 2010. All rights reserved. The content of this publication may be reproduced after permission has been obtained from BTC and provided that the source is acknowledged. This publication of the Trade for Development Centre does not necessarily represent the views of BTC. 2

Trade for Development Centre BTC (Belgian Development Agency) CONSUMPTION Denmark is one of the promising EU countries for sports balls producers from developing countries. This chapter provides information on the Danish market for sports balls, fairtrade in Denmark and fairtrade/fsc sports balls in Denmark. The most important distribution channels for sports balls in Denmark will also be discussed, together with the most important players on the Danish (fairtrade/fsc) sports balls market. For more information on sports balls consumption on a global and EU level, please refer to chapter 4 Consumption of the main document. For consumption in other promising EU countries, please refer to the separte documents. DANISH MARKET FOR SPORTS BALLS Team sports are very popular in Denmark. Under the umbrella of the Danish Sports Association, more than 10,000 clubs are active and over 1.6 million persons. Of these 1.6 million, around 30% (almost 500,000) are active with ball sports (excl. tennis, table tennis etc.). This means around 10% of the Danish population. Football is by far the most popular ball team sports (two thirds of total ball sports), followed by handball (one quarter of total). Smaller sports are volleyball, basketball, floorball, American football, cricket and softball. Select is the most popular brand in Denmark, accompanied by adidas, Nike, Puma and Umbro. CODES OF CONDUCT Many Danish buyers have their own code of conduct with which sports balls suppliers need to comply. It is estimated that over 90% of all Danish companies have a code of conduct. This is together with Sweden one of the highest shares in Europe. The code of conducts can however differ much per company. As some just let their suppliers undersign a statement that they do not involve child labour in their production process, without ever checking this at the factory premises, others have developed extensive social compliance programmes. FAIRTRADE IN DENMARK There is an ever-increasing interest in fairtrade products in Denmark. In 2009, fairtrade products worth of 54 million were sold in Denmark. This meant an increase of around 7% compared to 2008 and an average value of 9.88 per capita. Of the Danish population, 40% regularly buy fairtrade products whereas over 70% of the Danish population know Fairtrade. Sustainable brands which are better known in Denmark are the Scandinavian Swan lable and the Danish Ø-label (both environmental/organic labels). DANISH MARKET FOR FAIRTRADE/FSC SPORTS BALLS The Danish market for fairtrade sports balls is still in its infant shoes. It is not known how many fair trade sports balls are sold, but probably less than 5,000 a year. Currently, there is one importer licensed to import Fairtrade sports balls. It is Ji sport which started to sell fairtrade sports balls early 2009. The company is gradually replacing regular private labelled 3

sports balls (Midas) by fairtrade sports balls and currently has 12 different fairtrade sports balls in its range. For the consumer market, there are two sales points where consumers can buy fairtrade sports balls: EcoEgo and Stadium. At the (web) shop of EcoEgo. Their assortment includes fairtrade and FSC labelled footballs, basketballs, rugbyballs and volleyballs. At the sports retail chain Stadium one can buy fairtrade footballs. EcoEgo is the only player on the Danish market who currently sells FSC sports balls. All balls in their assortment are both fairtrade and FSC certified. IMPORTS In 2009, Denmark was a medium-sized importer of sports balls, ranking eighth in the EU, behind Spain and the Netherlands, but ahead of Poland and Sweden. Between 2005 and 2009, total import value annually increased by an average 3.7% to 14 million in 2009. In the same period, imports from DCs annually increased by 1.7% in value. Compared to 2005, the total share of DCs in import value decreased from 66% to 62% in 2009, caused by a growth in intra-eu trade. In 2009, leading suppliers to Denmark were Pakistan, China and Germany. Intra-EU supplies from Belgium and the UK increased sharply in the period under review. China recorded a small decline (2% per year), while imports from Pakistan (+6%) increased. Refer to Table 1 for more information. Table 1 Supplier group Imports by and leading suppliers of sports balls to Denmark, 2005-2009, share in % of value in 2009 2005 mln 2007 mln 2009 mln Total 12 14 14 Leading suppliers in 2009 Intra-EU 3 5 5 Germany (14), the UK (9.5), Belgium (5.1), Italy (3.2), Sweden (2.3) Extra-EU excl. DCs* 1 1 1 Hong Kong (1.3), Taiwan (1.1), Australia (0.5), USA (0.2), Japan (0.2) DCs 8 9 9 Pakistan (30), China (29), Thailand (1.0), India (0.2), Guatemala (0.2), Malaysia (0.1), Vietnam (0.1) Source: Eurostat (2010) *DCs=Developing Countries Share 35 3.3 62 DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS IN DENMARK The most important distribution channels for sports balls in the EU are multinationals (like adidas and Nike, but also regional brands), sporting goods importers and wholesalers and sports retail chains. Some non-specialised retail chains, such as supermarkets, 4

Trade for Development Centre BTC (Belgian Development Agency) hypermarkets and department stores also have sports balls in their assortment. In the case of fairtrade/fsc/sustainable sports balls, specialised fairtrade importers are also an important distribution channel. The demand in Denmark can be divided, like any other, into sports clubs, schools and private persons. Although the shares of the different buyers is not known, it is known that in Denmark the sports retail chains have a prominent position. Not only do they dominate the consumer market, but they also play a key role in the sports clubs market. In general, importers and wholesalers in Denmark sell to schools and businesses (mainly promotional materials). SPORTS RETAIL CHAINS The sports retail chains are very important in Denmark. Besides dominating the consumer market, they are also the most important trade channels for the Danish sports clubs. Sports retail chains sell to Danish consumers through their (web) shops. In the shops, mainly cheaper balls worth 10-25 are sold. Furthermore, each retail chain has their own sales team who closes long-term agreements with sports clubs. These are usually sponsor agreements of around three years long. It is a very brand dominated business with focus on price. The retail chains import directly from the large sports brands like adidas and Nike. For private label products, imports go through their headquarters. So it depends whether or not the headquarters are located in Denmark, if the Danish purchasing manager has influence on what is bought. Three sports retail chains dominate the Danish market. They are: Intersport - http://www.intersport.dk - international sports retail chain with over 90 shops in Denmark. Sportigan - http://www.sportigan.dk - Danish sports retail chain with over 80 shops in Denmark. Currently Sportigan does not import themselves, they buy all equipment from Danish importers (big brands). Sport-master - http://www.sportmaster.dk - Danish sports retail chain. With more than 100 shops they are the biggest sports retail chain in Denmark. Sport-master does not import themselves, they buy all equipment from Danish importers (big brands). Besides these three leaders, Stadium (http://www.stadium.dk) is another sports retail chain in Denmark. It is a Scandinavian sports retail chain with headquarters in Sweden. Since the beginning of 2010, Stadium Denmark sells fairtrade footballs. SPORTING GOODS IMPORTERS/WHOLESALERS Importers and wholesalers in Denmark mainly sell to schools. Most of them do not sell to private persons or sports clubs. Examples are: Hummel - http://www.hummel.dk - important brand on the Danish market. Has its own code of conduct which can be found on their website. Ji Sport - http://jisport.dk - trading company that sells sports equipment to schools, institutions, clubs, companies and individuals. Their assortment includes fairtrade sports balls. 5

Poul Holm Sport Aps - http://www.phsport.dk - large importer/wholesaler who mainly sells to schools. Has a very large assortment of sports balls. Select - http://www.select.dk - this brand dominates the Danish market and sells about 100,000 sports balls every year on the Danish market. The company has its own social compliance programme. Tress A/S - http://www.tress.com - large sports equipment wholesaler in Scandinavia. One of the players who dominate the Scandinavian schools market. OTHERS Other distribution channels for sports balls are specialised importers and general retail chains, such as supermarkets. The most important one is: EcoEgo - http://www.ecoego.dk - specialised importer/retailer of sustainable products. They sell Fairtrade and FSC labelled footballs, basketballs, rugbyballs and volleyballs from Pakistan. HOW TO DO BUSINESS IN DENMARK Danish people are quite open to international business. Although purchasing managers are usually very busy, it is possible to get into contact with them through e-mail or by phone. Always prepare yourself properly before picking up the handle. For more information about how to do business in Denmark, also refer to http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-businessdenmark.html. USEFUL SOURCES Danish Football Association - http://www.dbu.dk - works with an own code of conduct which suppliers of sports balls and other sports equipment need to meet. Danish Handball Federation - http://www.dhf.dk. Voor 15 uur bellen. Tlf: 43 26 24 00 Danish Sports Confederation - http://www.dif.dk - umbrella organisation for all sports associations in Denmark. Fairtrade Denmark - http://www.fairtrade-maerket.dk. 6