For this research, I chose to look into the viability of expanding exercise equipment markets in western Europe, which includes England, Denmark, France, Spain, and so forth. In my searches, I used Internet search engines, as well as journal databases, in order to form an adequate blanket for scouring the Web for this type of information. In the process, I found several helpful sources that would help me along the path towards making a quality recommendation to this company’s founder.
My first results were for market reports on these countries that, while likely high quality, are extremely expensive to purchase, often costing thousands of dollars. Most of the quality resources I found were from sports equipment journals – there is one in particular, Sports Equipment Industry Profile, that specializes in examining the market from the point of view of quite a few countries, and continents such as Europe. This was the most helpful publication, as it was a comprehensive report on the status of the sporting goods industry in Europe, indicating steady growth that is seen to continue as the years go on (2010). Other publications focus on the specific movement of their markets, such as Footwear News, where I found a story indicating movements by US companies into a greater European foothold (Abel 2006). Another source from Dealernews, a trade publication, indicated a strong sports-related market within Europe. (Walker 2003) Finally, the facts about the strong European market found in the industry profile previously mentioned were substantiated with the entry from ResearchWiki on that particular market. (“Sports Equipment Marketing Research” 2011)
Considering the data I was able to glean from those two sources, as well as the magazine articles that provided another window into the market itself, I was able to get enough evidence to say that a strategic initiative into Europe would be wise. If I were to make a recommendation to the company’s founder, it would be that trade publications and market research profiles are the way to go in order to get free information on the market movements of this particular country for exercise equipment. If you have the budget to purchase more reputable market research documents, they are certainly available. However, given the pervading information that is available for free and through other research avenues, it would be foolish not to consider those options first.
References
Abel, K. (2006). Serra's Priorities: Revive Europe Biz, Expand U.S. Share. (cover story). FN:
Footwear News, 62(25), 1-7. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Sports Equipment Industry Profile: Europe. (2010). Sports Equipment Industry Profile: Europe,
1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Sports Equipment Marketing Research. (2011) ResearchWikis. Retrieve March 6, 2011 at
<http://researchwikis.com/Sports_Equipment_Marketing_Research>
Walker, A. (2003). Dealer News From Europe. Dealernews, 39(8), 14. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
