THE LEADING TRADE MAGAZINE FOR UK SPORTS RETAILERS, MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS SporInsightts £3.50 APRIL 2007 www.sports-insight.co.uk THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF SPORTS AND PLAY ASSOCIATIONS INSIDE THIS ISSUE RUNNING FOOTWEAR MARKET Winners & losers in 2006 IN SEASON Focus on sports injury prevention, performance apparel, rugby, squash, running & athletics SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS Expert advice on better buying E-TAILING Top tips for profitable ecommerce BEST FOOT FORWARD Why more retailers are forging links with professional podiatrists Mitre Re-enter the Apparel Market After a 7 year absence, Mitre Sports are re-entering the Football Apparel market, and have recently announced 4 year partnerships with Ipswich Town FC and Huddersfield Town FC, that will see the British sports brand supply home and away kits, training and bench wear to both clubs until May 2011. These deals follow a large investment from Mitre in a new apparel team headed up by Paul Tudor, previously R R R R Apparel Manager for the Mackenzie huddersfield town a.f.c. AWAY SHIRT huddersfield town a.f.c. HOME SHIRT brand, a JD Sports company. His HTFC R R HTFC R R M M M L UK EUR USA ASIA MMML wealth of knowledge in this arena has UK EUR USA ASIA mitre.com mitre.com ensured Mitre has developed a great looking, high performance range of apparel. The material used hosts ‘COOLfit’ technology, ensuring the HTFC HTFC garment is lightweight and gives freedom of movement. It also boasts mesh panels positioned to allow heat to dissipate and cooler air to circulate whilst the body moisture is transferred STAFFLEX STAFFLEX STAFFLEX R R R STAFFLEX from the skin through the mesh. R Mitre, established in 1817, enjoys a rich footballing history and is HTFC HTFC HTFC HTFC recognised as the first supplier and manufacturer of professional footballs TERRIERS and has been the official ball supplier THE TERRIERS THE THE THE TERRIERS to the Football League for over a TERRIERS quarter of a century. pro playing change short R R R R Mitre’s Managing Director, Gary away kit 2007/08 home kit 2007/08 Hibbert says ‘We are delighted to be re-entering the pro kit market with Ipswich and Huddersfield as partners. Mitre was founded in the town of Huddersfield and only moved away from the area in the late 90’s. Ipswich R R R R is club of great stature and rich ipswich town f.c. FINAL HOME SHIRT ipswich town f.c. KEEPER HOME SHIRT heritage and like us they were founded R R MMML UK EUR USA ASIA mitre.com R R MMML UK EUR USA ASIA more than 100 years ago. mitre.com Also new in the Mitre range is generic Apparel, enabling smaller ITFC clubs to buy off the shelf training and bench wear, boasting professional ITFC design and performance. ITFC ITFC ITFC ITFC ITFC ITFC IPSWICH TOWN IPSWICH IPSWICHTOWN TOWN IPSWICHTOWN R R R R home kit 2007/08 keeper home kit 2007/08 www.sports-insight.co.uk 03 IN THIS ISSUE Sports Insight working with Sports Insight Messe Munchen’s UK partner for new media CONTENTS 04.07 ABC Certification Sports Insight has a current ABC certified circulation of 5,211 (audit period July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006). The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is an independent audit watchdog that verifies magazines’ circulation figures, providing accurate and comparable data for advertisers. ABC Certification demonstrates a media owner’s integrity, in their willingness to be audited and to conform to industry standards. COVER STORIES 20 WHAT’S HOT Sports Gamegear product range 24 RUNNING FOOTWEAR MARKET Insight 22 FSPA FOCUS Editor: Jeff James Tel: 01273 719900 Winners and losers in 2006 The latest news from the Federation of Sports Email: [email protected] & Play Associations Assistant Editor: Catherine Eade 26 SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS Advertising Manager: Keith Marshall Expert advice on better buying 66 UNDER THE COUNTER Tel: 01206 505947 Email: [email protected] A sideways look at the world of independent Fax: 01206 500243. 28 BEST FOOT FORWARD retailing Advertising Executive: Tim Wilby Why more retailers are forging links with Tel: 01206 500240. Email: [email protected] professional podiatrists Fax: 01206 505935. Advertising Sales 62 ETAILING 21-23 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Rd, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY Top tips for profitable ecommerce Group Advertising Manager: Sam Reubin Group Editor: Ted Rowe Publisher: Matthew Tudor REGULARS Art Director: James Philp Design: Lewis Webb 06 WHAT’S NEWS Advertisement Art Director: Brett Glennon Latest headlines, key dates and events Reproduction: Ace Pre-Press. Tel: 01206 797541 Accounts: 01206 505958 12 KIT STOP Published by Maze Media (2000) Ltd, 21-23 Phoenix Court, Essential stock for your shop Hawkins Rd, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY 18 60 SECONDS All contents © Maze Media (2000) Limited. The views expressed in this Charlie Allen, director of Shiner magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the veracity and integrity of the companies, persons, products and services mentioned in this publication and details given are believed to be accurate at the time of going to press. However, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted for any consequence or repercussion of responding to any information or advice given or inferred. No part of this publication may be copied, broadcast, interpreted, or stored, in any form, for any purpose, without the written permission of the publisher. ABC certified circulation: 5,211 (audit period July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) UK SUBSCRIPTION: £35 for one year (10 issues) 04 SPORTS INSIGHT ONLINE PRIZE DRAW Perfect for the active, explorer or simply the practical, Spearmark’s eye-catching range of revolutionary sports bottles (with gel-filled freezer sticks inside) are designed to keep drinks refreshingly cold for hours. Simply visit www.sports-insight.co.uk and register your details for your chance to win one. There are 30 up for grabs. IN SEASON 30 SPORTS INJURY PREVENTION 40 PERFORMANCE APPAREL 45 RUNNING/ATHLETICS 52 RUGBY 55 SQUASH FEATURES 60 DISPUTE DILEMMA Disputes in the workplace can be damaging to your business, but can be easily avoided WHAT’S NEWS ALL THE VERY LATEST IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY... Send your news stories to the Sports Insight news desk at [email protected] or call 01273 719900 ADIDAS AND UNDER ARMOUR TAKE SI AWARDS adidas and Under Armour were celebrating recently, with the two brands taking three awards between them at the Sport Industry Awards. Described as the 'Oscars of the sports world', adidas won Sport Brand of the Year and Best Use of PR in a Sport Campaign, while Under Armour, the performance apparel brand, won the Best Marketing of a Sport Product award for its Coldgear campaign. Other winners included: ■ Barclays - Spaces for Sports: The Sport England Community Programme Award ■ Coca-Cola - Wayne Rooney Viral: Best Use of Digital Media in Sport ■ Nike - 'Run London 2006, North v South': Best Integrated Marketing Campaign ■ Sony Ericsson - Get Closer to the Tour: The Eurostar European Sport Sponsorship Award ■ Carlsberg - 'Old Lions': Best TV Sport Commercial ■ UEFA - The Ultimate Stage: Best Promotion of a Sport by a Governing Body ■ Samsung Electronics - Chelsea FC: Best Sponsorship of a Sport Team or Individual ■ The Daily Telegraph: Best Newspaper Sport Coverage ■ Guinness - Guinness Premiership: Best Sponsorship of a Sport Event or Programme ■ Karen Earl Sponsorship: Sport Agency of the Year ■ Arsenal FC - Emirates Stadium: The FT Sport Business Achievement of the Year ■ Vic Wakeling, managing director, Sky Sports: Lifetime Achievement Award ■ David Beckham: The Virgin Atlantic Outstanding Contribution to British Sport 06 SPORTS INSIGHT "I missed out on signing a Chinese striker in January. You know the guy, Win One Soon." Wigan manager Paul Jewell PODPLUS WINS Diary Dates KENT ENTREPRENEUR SENI 07 AWARD MAY 19-20 Kate and Tom Austen, the ExCeL, London brother and sister team behind Podplus Trackside RETAIL SOLUTIONS 2007 Shop & Clinic, took the JUNE 5-7 Young Entrepreneur of the NEC, Birmingham Year prize at the recent Young Entrepreneurs Dinner at Canterbury Cathedral. The award was sponsored by the Institute of Directors Kent division. Kate GRASS ROOTS FOOTBALL and Tom were chosen from Prince's Trust businesses that exhibited at the Kent SHOW 2007 County Show in 2006. JUNE 9-10 Podplus opened its doors at the Julie Rose Athletics Stadium in Ashford Ricoh Arena, Coventry just over 18 months ago and is rapidly gaining a reputation for selling products designed for activity and running, alongside a hi-tec shoe fitting service that links a treadmill, laptop and camera in-store. OUTDOORPREVIEW The business also has health professionals offering chiropody, podiatry and JULY 3-5 sports massage. Tom practices podiatry at the clinic, advising on all lower limb Harrogate International Centre mechanics, growth problems and foot injuries and ailments, while Kate manages their growing team of five staff and the everyday running of the ISPO SPORT & STYLE business. JULY 8-10 Speaking at the awards dinner, Kate said: "As a young person, it can be New Munich Trade Fair Centre hard to make an impact, and opening a shop and clinic is a big risk. It took a year of research, a well thought out plan, support from the Prince's Trust and THE TENT SHOW @ STONELEIGH continued enthusiasm and optimism to get here. We are so pleased." SEPTEMBER 2-7 Stoneleigh Park ISPO RUSSIA SUMMER SEPTEMBER 5-8 Crocus Center, Moscow THE OUTDOOR TRADE SHOW 2007 OCTOBER 3-5 Stoneleigh Park GOLF EUROPE OCTOBER 7-9 New Munich Trade Fair Centre SPORTS SOURCE ASIA OCTOBER 27-30 Hong Kong SAR www.sportssource-asia.com STAG BUYING SHOW IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPORTS INSIGHT NOVEMBER 18-19 Heythrop Park Hotel & Country Club, Oxfordshire For further information call STAG on 01793 715406 ISPO WINTER 08 JANUARY 27-30 New Munich Trade Fair Centre www.sports-insight.co.uk 07 WHAT’S NEWS ALL THE VERY LATEST IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY..