1.1.1. Market Characteristics:
- Market Potential:
During the past few years major footwear and clothing brands like Reebok and Puma, and more recently, adidas and Nike, have been moving into the cricket market. Reebok was the official technical sponsor of the 2011 ICC World Cup and adidas clothes the Proteas, English and Australian teams. Nike featured prominently on the sleeves of the Indian team shirts.
Some of the top players who had been in action at the World Cup use bats from brands more associated with athletic tracks or soccer fields than cricket pitches. These include the likes of Sachin Tendulkar using an adidas bat, and World Cup Man of the Series Yuvraj Singh using Reebok. Many other top players were sponsored by brands such as Puma and Nike.
The sports brands have been supplying cricket clothing and footwear for many years, but the recent movement into hardware is a new innovation. Puma has been selling bats for a few years and adidas have been testing the market, but SA will only now be seen as a serious target for these brands.
These big brands have the benefit that they need no introduction and are immediately recognised by consumers. Youngsters think they are cool. A company like New Balance is already well recognised and well respected in the sports apparel market, mainly with shoes. Brand recognition will be high amongst consumers and with the growing number of clothing and footwear brands entering the market; it seems the logical decision for New Balance to seek the potential this market can provide.
- History of Market:
Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies are the main centers of the cricket sales industry. Kenya, Canada, Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe are the emerging markets.
In these main markets, the traditional cricket brands have been the trendsetters for many years in the cricket equipment market which is highly