I have many colleagues and friends in the triathlon industry and am posting under another name.
As much as people say that “Triathlon is recession proof”, I know first hand that it is not. The bad economy has affected tri bike sales, coaching, anything tri related sales (apparel, wetsuits, bike shoes, accessories, nutrition etc.), registration entries, travel expenses.
Will be interesting to hear people on hear deny it. But these are the facts. For anyone to turn a blind eye on this when the bear market is affecting everything and think that it is not affecting triathlon is not facing reality. Or maybe they are trying to make people believe that it is ok to go ahead and spend money on triathlon during a recession.
I have a few friends that Rep in the bike industry and know the local shop “SPIN” is doing fine. I have to believe that Triathletes in general are of a higher income than the main population (Triathlon is not cheap). I also think that most people will continue to purchase goods related to Triathlon but may squeeze an extra year or so out of their current ride.
I do not have any facts but that’s my observations.
Yes. There are but a few things that are recession proof (can’t really think of one… but I’m sure there are).
Why would triathlons be any exception? Most think triathletes have disposable income. This might be true for a minority, but the majority of weekend warriors are everyday hard working folks and many feel the pinch too. Even if they don’t, the general sentiment sucks, and confidence is low, so spending is eased back. I mean, personally, I am lucky to still have my job, have the same income I had last year, gas is cheaper, if anything, I’m “better off” now than last year. But its the uncertainty that has me keeping a tighter grip on my money.
In reviewing my cc’s statements… the last 4 months in a row, my statements are 40-50% lower than they were the previous 12 months… I’m not making less, and in fact there are deals out there… just tightening things down for a while.
It is my opinion that the triathlon market is going to be fine, but not because of this “disposable income” nonsense. It is my belief that triathlon is a growing sport. I personally know 3-4 of my friends that are getting into it, and I can’t be the only one. It is also a sport that brings people back year after year. So while some may be dialing back, there are newbies that are picking up the slack. They probably aren’t spending the high $$$ amount as their veteran counterparts usually do, but they are probably bringing enough in to offset the cutbacks that others are making. I’ll bet the triathlon market remains stable this year in terms of dollar amounts, with very small decline, if any.
looking for something recession proof? Buy into a funeral home. Or become a tax auditor…with things taking a downturn you can bet the number of people fudging their taxes is bound to go up.
I have many colleagues and friends in the triathlon industry and am posting under another name.
Why the secrecy?
Anyway, to say that the business is 100% recession proof would be false. However, it is a business, that is in much better shape than many others. The last 5 or 6 years has seen massive growth in the sport. A recent poll here on ST and also backed up by numbers from Triathlete Magazine, would indicate that the size of the triathlon population and thus the market has doubled in the past 5 years!! That is huge growth.
What we may see, is a slowing down of that growth. This may be not such a bad thing, as when their is huge growth people tend to get carried away with things and expectations get a bit out of line.** **Getting back to more realistic and manageable growth numbers may not be a such a bad thing. Will there be some fall-out? Yes, their will be - from those businesses, be they suppliers, retailers or races, that have built their entire financial model around the unrealistic growth.
looking for something recession proof? Buy into a funeral home. Or become a tax auditor…with things taking a downturn you can bet the number of people fudging their taxes is bound to go up.
Exactly! You can also add prisons and the department of labor to the list of recession-proof entities.
I have many colleagues and friends in the triathlon industry and am posting under another name.
As much as people say that “Triathlon is recession proof”, I know first hand that it is not. The bad economy has affected tri bike sales, coaching, anything tri related sales (apparel, wetsuits, bike shoes, accessories, nutrition etc.), registration entries, travel expenses.
Will be interesting to hear people on hear deny it. But these are the facts. For anyone to turn a blind eye on this when the bear market is affecting everything and think that it is not affecting triathlon is not facing reality. Or maybe they are trying to make people believe that it is ok to go ahead and spend money on triathlon during a recession.
Flame away.
I’m not surprised at all to hear this. I work in the finance industry- and ST’s comments and the poll below are very different metrics from any other survey on this topic- WSJ or Financial Times, NY Times, USA Today, etc… especially of a demographic that makes higher than average household income. I directly work with many people that could easily afford- any high end purchase- (such as 10k bike, luxury car, boat, vacation home)- and guess what- they are almost all delaying purchases. Not b/c they can’t afford it- but b/c- it’s smarter to be frugal (even if super affluent)- or conspicuous consumption is also out of favor. And- where will the bottom truly be- another 20% downside to Housing/Stock Markets? People that are affluent or near affluent (typical triathlete household)- are saving more, worried about potential job loss or decrease in total compensation, etc. So people that normally have a decent amount of discretionary income- are building cash reserves and paying down debt. They are not taking on any more debt and avoiding non-necessary purchases.
i am a small race director, in Florida, (200 to 400 athlete per event) i saw a drop of about 100 athletes per race last season, and i decided to put on 2 races this year.
2 reason, to many races, the growth is great but little guy’s like me can’t.
and the economy, people are complaining that $65 is to much for a sprint or $175 for a 1/2 iron, the cost of putting on a event has gone up by 20%
there is no sponsor money available,
i also own a small tri shop, people who are getting in the sport are looking for the $500 bicycle. the hard core tri athletes are just maintaining their bike for this year.
