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Hoping for growth
Derek Price, managing director of rubber ball manufacturers J Price, gets straight to the point. "Is squash still left as a sport?" is the rhetorical question from the man whose company was established in 1936. "Squash these days is 35-40% of what it was in its heyday, in the eighties and up to the mid-nineties, and the sport has been on a permanent decline ever since. People have started to do other things with their time. A lot of squash courts have become gyms, and privately owned squash clubs have gone out of business in their hundreds. Squash has gone back to where it was 30 or 40 years ago, when only the real enthusiasts played the game."
Squash numbers have declined since the 1990s without question, although the recent Active People Surveys commissioned by Sport England indicate that participatory numbers for both squash and badminton are now holding their own. In the inaugural Active People Survey conducted in 2005/06, 900,300 adults in England were estimated as regular badminton players, with 500,700 for squash. The 2007/08 survey shows that badminton numbers have risen by a modest 39,200, or 0.06%, while the figure for squash has dropped a negligible 0.6%, by 14,500 to an estimated total of 486,200. The World Squash Federation, meanwhile claims over 20 million people play squash in 175 countries worldwide.
The global squash community is currently campaigning for the sport to be included in the 2016 Olympics, with a global Squash 2016 Day being held on May 23 to raise awareness and funds. Surprisingly, squash has never been an Olympic sport, although it narrowly missed out on selection for London 2012, and a successful bid for 2016 would certainly see numbers rise once again. There's nothing like an Olympic gold for motivation.
Andy Catchpole, Head's category manager for squash and badminton, sees reason for optimism this year, while remaining cautious in the slow economic conditions. "Everyone talks about squash being a declining sport but the numbers of rackets we have sold in recent years has been pretty steady," says Catchpole. "We have noticed the market becoming more price conscious in the last five or six years, with a focus on ‘deals', but I wouldn't say it is a negative market. We have just launched our new squash range to the retail trade in the last few weeks. The response has been good but the proof will come when we see if the rackets sell through."
Reports from Wilson are similar: buoyant without getting carried away.
"Overall we are ahead of last year and ahead of plan, so that is good news," says Stuart Preece, Wilson sales and marketing director. "The year has started very well because we have a strong product range and we are finding retailers are polarising towards the major brands. They are stocking products they know are going to sell, rather than trying something less well known."
With Wilson looking to increase their market share in badminton, they have signed an endorsement deal with Gail Emms, the Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist from the Athens Olympics in 2004. While Emms, 31, retired from competitive badminton last year, she remains the most recognisable face of badminton in the UK.
Bob Johnson, sales and marketing director for Prince in the UK, also identifies a trend for retailers sticking to the brand names they know best.
"Retailers need to be careful with their money and they don't want to stock too much product," says Johnson, who has high hopes for Prince's new O3 Speedport Black rackets in 2009. "Retailers need to know that what they are stocking is going to sell, and generally speaking it is the bigger brands who do the marketing and who have got the players, so the consumer can see these rackets and see that they are being played out there, and that is what helps pull the sales through the shops."
Prince has received a particular marketing boost already this year, with men's world number five James Wilstrop and women's world number one Nicole David both trusting the O3 Speedport Black in competition.
Despite not being the most expensive racket in the Prince range for 2009, the O3 Speedport Black comes with a premium RRP of £160, but as Karakal's Keith Sawyer claims, rising prices are going to be found across the market.
"Prices are going up for all companies due to exchange rates," says Sawyer. "New technology is the only way forward, coupled with value for money, and high price point rackets are selling more."
Sawyer reports that 2009 Karakal sales on squash and badminton rackets, and accessories, are up 5% year on year, with a 15% rise on clothing and footwear. Karakal's new range is currently being shown in, with Sawyer claiming that forward bookings are also up.
Business for Dunlop Slazenger and Carlton also seems to be coping well in the slow economy, with product manager Matthew Shuker pointing to an increase of 200% in sales of its premium Aerogel 4D squash racket to specialist accounts, with Shuker giving credit to new distributor Reydon Sports. Dunlop Slazenger will be as visible in squash in 2009 as ever, with more world top-50 players playing Dunlop than any other brand, and with Dunlop balls remaining the only ones used in major professional competition.
Shuker also warns of rising retail prices. "It seems brands are raising prices as a result of increases in manufacturing costs in the Far East," he says. "We are also seeing retailers consolidating the number of suppliers they work with, which is great for Dunlop Slazenger as we can offer premium brands across a number of categories."
Rising manufacturing costs in the Far East and the weak pound (£) won't be to every company's disadvantage, such as J Price and its British-made balls. The Bath company has seen its stable of brands selling Price-made balls dwindle in recent years, but now a few more orders might be coming its way, to complement sales of its own-brand balls.
Squash and badminton players in search of a boost to their armoury in 2009 should not be disappointed by the technology available to them, or by the visual appeal of many of the latest offerings, although with disposable income levels low among consumers in general, some of the retail prices will have people thinking twice. What will be crucial for squash, in particular, will be the IOC decision for 2016, which will be confirmed in October.
