France Ski Gear & Equipment Market Overview, 2028

France Ski Gear & Equipment Market Overview, 2028

The first Winter Olympics were staged in France in Chamonix in 1924. However, at the time, they did not feature downhill skiing competitions. Skiing began in France in the 1930s, and Chamonix was soon followed by other mountain settlements such as Mégève. After an initial phase of developing ski regions around existing settlements, French entrepreneurs began to create resorts from the ground up. It began with village-type resorts like Courchevel and then progressed to high-altitude heavily urbanized integrated resorts, which saw the construction of large housing blocs on the mountain in the 1960s and 1970s. The French government strongly promoted the construction of these suburban-looking mountain towns, such as La Plagne, Val Thorens, Avoriaz, les Arcs, Tignes, and others, through its Plan neige. The most recent phase of development returned to more village-like lower-altitude resorts that were smaller and better blended into the environment. France has over 289 ski resorts, with each offering skiing and snowboarding for beginners, families, and ski experts. According to the findings, over 28% of Europeans visited France for their most recent ski vacation in 2017-2018, making it one of their favorite ski locations. The majority of France's largest and most popular ski resorts are in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, with the exception of three in Isère and the Alpes du Sud. All of the following resorts have an average winter visitation of more than one million skiers: Avoriaz, Chamonix / Les Houches, Courchevel-Méribel-Mottaret, Flaine-Morillon-Samoens, La Plagne, L'Alpe d'Huez, Les Arcs, Les Deux-Alpes, Les Ménuires, Serre-Chevallier, Tignes, Val d'Isère, Val Thorens / Orelle.

According to the research report “France Ski Gear & Equipment Market Overview, 2028” published by Bonafide Research, the market is anticipated to witness a value addition of USD 30.78 Million market size by 2028. Increased government initiatives to encourage participation in outdoor activities such as skiing and other snow sports, as well as an increase in the number of ski resorts, are some of the primary factors driving increased sales of ski gear and equipment throughout the region. Globally, the number of women participating in various activities, notably winter sports such as skiing, has increased in recent years. Vendors are introducing women's ski gear and equipment. Though women ski at a lower rate than men, manufacturers are playing a significant part in encouraging women by supplying specialized equipment designed specifically for them, such as slender ankles and size differences. Furthermore, major providers separate their products by categorizing them into tiers such as intermediate, advanced, and professional. Coalition Snow, for example, is a significant vendor that manufactures women's outdoor recreational equipment such as skis and snowboards. As a result, the increasing adoption of ski gear and equipment by women signals a rise in market growth. Supermarkets and hypermarkets dominated the industry in terms of distribution channels due to discounted products and options available. Urban Surfers, Trespass, La Haute Route, and Snow Emotion are some of the well-known retailers in France. Furthermore, due to increased internet penetration, convenience, and so on, the online segment is predicted to grow at a rapid pace.

During the winter season, which lasts from December to March, snow falls in France. The majority of snowfall in France falls in hilly areas such as the French Alps and the Pyrenees. Other locations, such as the plains of Loire and Paris, rarely get snow, though temperatures might dip to 23 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 degrees Celsius) at night. Paris has an ocean climate, with winters marked by fewer hours of sunlight, cool days, and cold nights. Temperatures are cold, but they are normally above freezing. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 36.9 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 degrees Celsius). The most snow falls in January, with a total amount of 1.14 inches (29 mm). Throughout the year, Paris receives 7.9 snowfall days and an aggregate of 2.48 inches (63 millimeters) of snow. From February 4 to February 20, 2022, France competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. At the event, France won 5 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals. Some of the medal winners in the skiing competition at the event included Quentin Fillon Maillet, Clément Nol, Tess Ledoux, and Mathieu Faivre.

Some of the major French resorts that were built from the ground up, initially as integrated operations, were later dismantled in the 1980s, and lift operations were distributed among a variety of actors, giving birth to the Compagnie des Alpes, which has long been the world's largest ski resort operator. France is the only country in Europe with such a dominant operator, which operates practically all of the major resorts (12 large Alpine resorts totaling around 15 million skier visits are operated fully or partly by Compagnie des Alpes). Labellemontagne and Altiservice are two smaller firms that run lifts for multiple ski slopes. Savoie Stations Participation is a public/private partnership that owns 17 ski areas. Ski lifts are still considered a public service in France, and some of the operating businesses are largely or entirely owned or administered by towns. Another distinguishing feature of French resorts, particularly in large purpose-built resorts, is the relatively high concentration of apartment living. Most clients spend their ski week in what is known as a Résidence de Tourisme, which is the French equivalent of North American condos, with substantially less surface area per guest and a level of comfort that is often still based on 1970s norms. This latter issue is becoming increasingly problematic, as it reduces the number of beds that can be properly sold.

As per World Bank France has a population of 67.5 million people in 2021, with 32.67 million men and 34.83 million women. The majority of the population, 41.46 million people, is between the ages of 15 and 65. There are 54.67 million urban residents and 12.83 million rural residents. According to the World Bank, France's GDP in 2021 was USD 2.94 trillion, with an inflation rate of 1.6% and a per capita income of $ 43,518.5. (2021). According to some stat, 8.5 million people are skiers; France is in second position in terms of most skiers in a country just behind Germany. Increasing Per Capita Income is the major factor behind the growth of the Skiing Market in France.

Despite the fact that France is the most popular tourist destination in the world, the ski sector is still predominantly driven by the domestic market. The local market, on the other hand, is quite mature, with a number of skier visits that is slightly dropping at an inflection point in winter 2012/13. On the other hand, approximately 2 million foreign skiers visit France each winter season, and their numbers have been increasing to compensate for the retiring local clients. The British make up one-quarter of the population, followed by Italians, Belgians, Germans, and Russians. Before the Ukrainian crisis, the latter became increasingly common in ski slopes, accounting for 7% to 9% of overnight hotel stays. Nonetheless, the 5-year skier visit average has been drifting slightly downwards for some years, highlighting Europe's overall trend. Both local and foreign customer bases are flattening, and finding innovative means to bring a significantly new clientele to skiing will be critical in the near future.

Considered in this report
• Geography: France
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• France ski gear & equipment market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Product:
• Skies/Ski Snowboards
• Ski Footwear/Ski Boots and Bindings
• Ski Poles/Ski Sticks
• Ski Helmets
• Ski Goggles
• Ski Gloves/Ski Mittens
• Ski Clothing/Apparel
• Others

By Distribution Channel:
• Hypermarkets/Supermarkets
• Specialty Stores
• Online Stores
• Other Distribution Channels

By End-User:
• Men
• Women
• Kids

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and analyzing government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience:
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the ski-gear equipment industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.