The following research report contains market research, analysis, statistics and business intelligence relating to research on Golf Wear Industry In Japan. 
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ABSTRACT
The $3.1 billion Japanese golf market, the world's second
largest, is getting active again. Although the market has been
sluggish since the fall of 1998, the signs are stron gor a come
back. Industry experts expect the market will show real growth
in 2000.
The following report is based on the results of a survey on
Japanese golfers' involvement with golf, conducted by a leading
Japanese golf equipment manufacture, which appeared in the
September 1 edition of the "Sports Industry News." It shows
that Japanese golfers are more eager to play golf and spend more
money on equipment than ever before. Japanese golfers spend an
average of Yen 622,000 ($5,924) a year on golf. Surprisingly,
female golfers aged over 50 spend the most: Yen 840,000 ($8,000)
a year. Also, the results show that Japanese golfers care more
about performance than price when they buy equipment.
The time is perfect for American makers of high quality,
competitive golf equipment to try the market especially with a
strong yen making U.S. prices more attractive. The Commercial
Service Osaka (CS Osaka), in charge of promoting U.S sporting
goods equipment in Japan, is organizing a U.S. pavilion at the
Japan Golf Fair 2000 to provide U.S. golf equipment suppliers
with the best opportunity to enter the Japanese market at a very
reasonable cost. The Japan Golf Fair, scheduled from February
24-26, 2000 in Tokyo, is the only golf equipment trade show in
Japan to which all key industry players come, either as visitors
or exhibitors. End .
Summary translation of the survey
The following is a translation of the article which
appeared in the September 1 edition of the "Sports Industry
News." The article reports the results of the survey on
Japanese golfers' involvement with golf, conducted by
Bridgestone Sports, a leading golf equipment manufacturer in
Japan.
Begin translation:
---------------------------
Lifestyle of Golfers in '99
---------------------------
Survey of today's golfers' involvement with golf by Bridgestone
Sports
Number of golfers going to driving ranges has decreased, due to
the sluggish economy, but the number of rounds played at golf
courses and the total expenditures on golf seem to have
increased, especially among middle-aged women. The involvement
with golf by middle-aged women is particularly noteworthy. This
survey has been conducted among 500 amateur golfers every two
years since 1989. This year's survey was conducted in June and
is based on 341 valid replies; its results were announced in
August. The survey also confirms that the eagerness of
golfers, which was revealed in the 1997 survey, is still on the
rise.
Golfers' involvement with golf
------------------------------
A. Comparison of golfers' involvement with golf: 1999/1997/1995
(Table 1)
The average number of rounds per year and spending on golf per
year have increased. Enthusiasm towards golf is at the same
level as the previous survey in 1997. It shows that golfers do
not go to driving ranges as often as before. However, once they
go to a driving range, they stay and practice longer than
before. As a whole, there were not significant changes in golf
habits, and the enthusiasm towards golf still remains very high.
Table 1: Comparison of Golf Life
1999
1997 1995
----------------------------------------------------------------
Enthusiasm 82.6%
84.2% 73.75
----------------------------------------------------------------
No. of rounds/year 25.3
22.9 17.5
----------------------------------------------------------------
Day for rounds:
Weekends 39.0%
51.2% 57.0%
Weekdays 61.0%
48.9% 43.0%
----------------------------------------------------------------
No. going to range 3.1/month
3.4/month 2.9/month
---------------------------------------
Hours spent at range 1.7 hours 1.5
hours 1.3 hours
---------------------------------------
No. of balls to hit 175
180 160
----------------------------------------------------------------
Expenditure on golf (Yen)622,000
605,000 482,000
(US$) $5,924
$5,762 $4,590
----------------------------------------------------------------
B. How often do they play golf at a golf course? (Table 2)
The average number of rounds per year showed an increase in all
age groups except for male golfers in their 20's. The average
number of rounds by female golfers in their 20's and 30's
dramatically increased from 15.3 to 21.7 (20's) and from 19.4 to
26.2 times a year (30's). Male golfers tend to play with their
fellows from work, business related people, and friends. But
women in their thirties and forties play with their husbands and
women in their fifties play with their girl friends.
Regarding the day of the rounds, weekdays account for over
60%. Monday and Wednesday are the most popular days. About
80% of golfers aged over 40 prefer having a golf car with a
caddie but the younger generation doesn't. Women tend to prefer
a golf car (65.2%) instead of pushing a cart.
Table 2: Average number of rounds per year
Total Men Women
20's 30's 40's over
20's 30's 40's over
50 50
--------------------------------------------------------------
1999 25.3 16.3 17.3 26.4
32.5 21.7 26.2 27.6 34.2
1997 22.9 16.9 14.6 22.2
30.9 15.3 19.4 25.9 33.9
--------------------------------------------------------------
97/98 +2.4 -0.6 -2.7 +4.2
+1.6 +6.4 +6.8 +1.7 +0.3
Table 3 Golf Expenditure by Generation (unit: Yen 1000)
Total Men Women
20's 30's 40's over
20's 30's 40's over
50 50
--------------------------------------------------------------
1999 622 349 482 714
745 455 613 754 840
1997 605 428 448 618
701 488 592 667 913
--------------------------------------------------------------
97/98 +17 -79 +34 +96 +44 -33
+21 +87 -73
Table 4: Golf expenditure by item (unit: Yen 1,000)
Male
golfers Female golfers
----------------------------------------------------------------
20's 30's 40's 50~ 20'
s 30's 40's 50~
----------------------------------------------------------------
Round 200 298 472 526
261 416 492 548
Range 50 70 86 70
75 77 90 98
Equipment 61 73 91 92
55 50 82 99
Golf wear 38 41 65 57
64 70 90 95
----------------------------------------------------------------
Total 349 482 714 745
455 613 754 840
c. Involvement with golf by age groups:
Aged over 50:
The activities of female players are particularly noteworthy.
They play golf at golf courses an average of 34.2 times a year,
and spend an average of Yen 840,000 ($8,000) total on golf. (see
table 4) They show the highest enthusiasm towards golf.
40's:
Both male and female golfers spend more than before. The
average is over Yen 700,000 ($6,667) a year on golf.
Especially, male golfers in this generation show high enthusiasm
(increased to 88.5% from 84.1% in 1997), and they are expected
to become more and more active.
30's:
Men show the second highest level in enthusiasm but this is not
reflected in spending. On the other hand, women are more
active: the average number of rounds increased from 19.4 to 26.2
times a year.
20's:
Annual total expense is slightly decreased but no significant
change in the number of rounds per year.
Equipment
---------
According to the survey, golfers spent an average of Yen 77,000
(US$733) on equipment (clubs, balls, shoes, etc.), decreased
slightly by Yen 1,000 ($9.52) from the 1997 survey.
D. Utility Clubs:
Utility clubs are popular among male golfers. 40% of male
golfers own one. Younger age groups show a high possession
rate, for example, 43.5% of male golfers in their 20's have at
least one utility club. Utility clubs were originally developed
for average amateur players who do not drive well with long
irons. But it is getting popular among professional golfers,
too. So, it is expected that more and more advanced amateur
golfers will use utility clubs in the near future.
29.0% of golfers have utility clubs; 39.4% of male golfers and
13.8% of female golfers have utility clubs.
Table 5: Utility club possession rate (Unit: %)
Age Male golfers: Female golfers:
-----------------------------------------------
20's: 43.5% 3.3%
30's: 42.2% 2.5%
40's: 40.0% 25.8%
Over 50: 33.3% 24.3%
Balls: Over 80% of golfers purchased new balls within the past
year. (Only 5.3% purchased used balls.) Average number of
balls purchased is 2.6 dozen per person. They chose balls based
on 1) performance (64.2%), 2) manufacturer/brands (46.0%), 3)
price (35.5%). The most popular selling prices are Yen 700
($6.67) per ball (28.4%), Yen 600 ($5.71) per ball (19.1%)and
Yen 500 ($4.76) per ball (9.4%).
Clubs: Percentage of golfers who purchased a driver in the last
year was 50.4%, who purchased irons was 20.8%, and who purchased
a putter was 32.0%. These rates decreased slightly compared to
the 1997 survey. Utility club is 9.4% and no change.
Golf apparel: Golfers purchased an average of Yen 63,000
($600) of golf wear over the past year. The spending has
increased slightly. Women spent an average of Yen 80,000 ($762)
and male golfers spent an average of Yen 50,000 ($476). Women
aged over 50 spent the most, Yen 95,000 ($905).
E. Key factors affecting golfers' purchasing decisions:
Japanese golfers really care about the performance of the
equipment when they purchase balls and clubs. As you can see in
table 6, performance is the most important factor in purchasing
balls, drivers and irons. For clubs, many golfers make a
decision after testing the club. Especially for female golfers,
the results of trial are the second most important factor after
performance and before price.
Table 6: Key factors affecting golfer's purchasing decisions:
Balls
-----
1. performance 64.2%
2. brand 46.0%
3. price 35.5%
Clubs - driver
--------------
1. distance 59.8%
2. price 48.1%
3. result of trial 37.8%
Clubs - iron
------------
1. accuracy
of direction: 51.3%
2. price: 49.3%
3. result of trial 36.4%
DISCLAIMER
Information in this report relies on sources including Government Publications, Opinions of industry experts and other public sources. Infomat can accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information or for loss or damage caused by any use thereof. All prices subject to change without notice. |
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For the 2008 Edition
Published: 2006 August
Market: Mens Womens Childrens
Region: Japan
Industry: Apparel
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