SIC 3949 Sporting and Athletic Goods, Not Elsewhere Classified
SIC 3949
This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing sporting and athletic goods not elsewhere classified, such as fishing tackle; golf and tennis goods; baseball, football, basketball, and boxing equipment; roller skates and ice skates; gymnasium and playground equipment; billiard and pool tables; and bowling alleys and equipment. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing athletic apparel are classified in the major group for apparel and other finished products made from fabrics and similar materials; those manufacturing athletic footwear are classified in SIC 3021: Rubber and Plastics Footwear and SIC 3149: Footwear, Except Rubber, Not Elsewhere Classified; those manufacturing small arms ammunition are classified in SIC 3482: Small Arms Ammunition; and those manufacturing small arms are classified in SIC 3484: Small Arms.
339920
Sporting and Athletic Good Manufacturing
Like other sectors of the U.S. economy, the sporting goods industry was undergoing substantial change in the 2000s. Computer technology linked sports equipment manufacturers more closely to retailers, and the Internet and other e-commerce tools gave this industry a tremendous boost in sales. What was begun in the 1990s as super sporting goods stores oversaturated the market and squeezed out smaller chains continued in further consolidation. In addition, as of 2003, many of the largest retailers, such as Dick's, Gart, and The Sports Authority, were developing store brands to compete with name brand products. The trends of globalization and restructuring transformed the organization of sporting goods companies. The sale of licensed products saw stunning growth. Additionally, changing demographics and lifestyles affected the popularity of individual sports and pastimes.
While total sales for 2001 had been disappointing, as this industry suffered along with nearly every other U.S. manufacturing industry that year, by 2003 total industry sales, which include manufacturers of athletic apparel, grew for the second year in a row to reach a record high of $50.5 billion. Sporting goods equipment accounted for about 36 percent of the industry in 2002. Much of this growth was attributed to the surge in demand for exercise and fitness products. Although the American population was aging, much of the postwar baby-boom generation remained committed to staying fit. In addition, growing numbers of women were becoming sports enthusiasts, and manufacturers were designing offerings specifically for their needs (rather than simply painting existing products in pastels). Even the government was getting involved, backing physical education with federal dollars.
Performance among the industry's numerous segments continued to vary significantly as a sport's popularity waxed or waned depending on demographics, economics, marketing skill, and fads. In general, companies were creating new demand by appealing to specific market segments. Exercise/fitness equipment, golf, and outdoor sports such as hunting, fishing, and camping, dominated the industry in 2002. Overseas markets were a source of new demand because of expanding economies and liberalized trade regulations, although the Asian financial crisis was spurring imports.
The sporting goods industry encompasses a wide variety of businesses and products with hundreds of participants. Within a specific segment, however, a few large companies may dominate. In the 1990s and early 2000s, ownership of many sporting goods companies changed hands through acquisitions or mergers. Most notably, in 1996 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. acquired Spalding Sports Worldwide in a deal estimated at $1 billion. That record deal was eclipsed in 1998 when Sunbeam Corp. acquired The Coleman Company for $2.1 billion. Other companies, like Wilson Sporting Goods, owned by Amer Group PLC, consolidated and restructured operations.
The sporting goods sector offers stunning success stories as a new or substantially improved product, or even an entirely new sport, can capture the public's fancy and produce spectacular returns for the originator. But for every Rollerblade Inc. (a company that rode the in-line skating boom), there are dozens of failures.
Albert G. Spalding, the man often misidentified as the inventor of baseball, was actually one of the pioneers of the sporting goods industry. After pitching his team, the Boston Red Stockings, to victory in three consecutive National Professional Association pennant races in the early 1870s, Spalding helped found the National League in 1876. In 1878 he opened a sporting goods store with his brother in Chicago. The company expanded from 2 to 14 stores within 2 years and soon began selling products it manufactured directly to other retail dealers. Spalding is given much of the credit for introducing gloves to baseball; after developing a sore arm from pitching, he switched to first base in 1877 and started wearing highly visible black gloves. Cynics have suggested, however, that Spalding's interest in wearing gloves was not unrelated to his desire to sell them.
Spalding also figures prominently in the history of basketball. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, commissioned him to create the world's first basketball in 1892. In 1999, Spalding balls were still the official standard of the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Another important sporting goods company with a colorful history is Wilson. The firm was originally known as the Ashland Manufacturing Company and was a subsidiary of a meatpacking firm. It sold violin strings, surgical sutures, and strings for tennis products, all by-products of animal gut. In 1914 the company was forced into receivership and taken over by New York bankers. They picked Thomas Wilson to manage the company, partly because of his name—President Woodrow Wilson was then at the height of his popularity, and the owners hoped to capitalize on the association in the consumer's mind. The new firm became Wilson & Company. The firm soon expanded into tennis rackets, hunting and camping equipment, and fishing tackle.
A more modern, but already legendary, figure in the history of sports equipment is Scott Olson. Olson was a 19-year-old goaltender...
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