Overall, sales in the sports retail sector increased by 7.6 percent during the second quarter of the year. According to the report, the 12.7 percent growth in e-commerce represents a continuation of the upturn noted at the beginning of the year. Physical retail, meanwhile, grew by 6.2 percent during the period. Sales showed positive development during all months of the quarter, with April increasing by 3.1 percent, May by 6.5 percent, and June by 13.5 percent.
The industry organization Svenskt Sportforum sees the first half of the year as a trend break after the weaker finish to 2025.
The first half of the year shows that sports retail is back on a stable growth trajectory. Two strong quarters in a row are positive news for the industry, although future development will continue to be affected by household purchasing power, the economic climate, and the global situation, says Jonas Linder, CEO of Svenskt Sportforum.
When sales are broken down by product level, all three main categories show growth during the quarter. The equipment category accounted for the largest increase, with a rise of 9 percent. Clothing sales increased by 5.4 percent and footwear by 2.6 percent.
Lars Palmgren, CEO of SGN Sport, which operates Team Sportia and Sportringen among others, points out that a changed economic situation for consumers is now reflected in retail.
We are seeing broad positive development in all main categories and there are clear signs that many Swedish households now have more room for consumption, which benefits sports retail as a whole, says Lars Palmgren.
According to Palmgren, interest in Swedish football has also contributed to increasing the number of visitors and sales within several product areas during the last quarter.
Sportindex is published four times a year by Svenskt Sportforum in collaboration with HUI Research. The statistics are based on aggregated and anonymized sales data from several market-leading players in Swedish sports retail, including Stadium, Intersport, the sports departments of e-commerce companies Boozt and Booztlet, and SGN Sport's store chains.