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2020 Italian Boardsports Market Insight Roundup
What a year. 2020 was a real rollercoaster ride. The end of the year is still full of uncertainty and fear of what’s still to come. The second COVID wave is giving everyone a hard time. We also have to deal with restrictions that change on a daily basis.
By Franz Josef Holler
As 2020 comes to an end, the COVID denier movement has hit an all-time high, with big cities such as Milan, Torino, Naples and Rome seeing aggressive demonstrations; storefronts have been destroyed without reason. Restriction fatigue is becoming a nationwide feeling. Many Italians feel the media are making the situation out to be much worse than it actually is and many also feel that the restrictions on social lives are causing our youth to suffer the most.
2020 had shown us times of both shadow and light. Of course, the lockdown in March/ April was very bad for business, especially for retailers that didn’t have an online presence. The re-start in June 2020 gave us hope and we had a successful summer season, nobody was expecting the boom that boardsports saw; a boom that is still holding steady. Especially skateboarding, which was sold out everywhere. Skate completes are still hard to get hold of and the number of beginners taking up skating was tremendous. Stores are still fighting to get products in, and suppliers are seeing an all-time high in skateboarding hardgoods sold. A key retailer from the Milan area, who does not want to be named, put it like this: “The lockdown was a shock, but our online store saved us. With the re-start we could really come back stronger than before in terms of hardgoods. Clothing sales were stable but during those months, but we did not see any increase. The number of skate schools that are fully booked is a very positive sign that skateboarding has gone mainstream over the last few months.”
Also, Alex from Fakiestores in Merano and Silando says, “the year’s taken a positive turn. Of course, our yearly turnover will not be the same as usual but the fact that skateboarding is doing so well makes me feel good, as that is why I started the store in the first place.”
What’s crucial now is that ski resorts are able to open during the winter season. Nobody knows whether resorts will be able to open, and if they can open, how long they can open for. With infection numbers rising rapidly again, nobody can project if the winter season and tourism will be able to take place, something many boardsport and sport retailers are very worried about.
The summer season went well, with many Italians not traveling to foreign countries but staying local: visiting our own national beaches and doing as much outdoor sport as possible. This being something surfing could also benefit from, with general sales during summer and rental businesses doing very well.
In general, the clothing side of businesses have seen an overstock in many stores which is keeping store owners worried about the future, many have calculated more conservatively with their SS21 purchases and want to be prepared if a new, strict lockdown hits us again.
2020 made Italy more digital and everyone seems more tech savvy than last year, something many are happy about however others see going digital as a big challenge that Italy needs to face; a challenge that comes with many benefits as well as challenges for smaller businesses.
2020 is coming to an end and everyone hopes that 2021 will bring us more stability, predictability, peace and freedom as that’s what our economy, and especially our society, will need to get back on track again.
