Rise in 2018: Chinese sports consumption report outlines the ＂Four Haves＂ industries

Today, China's economic growth depends on the collaboration of consumption, investment and export rather than investment and export in the past. Consumption, known as the ballast stone of stable economy, has become the key impetus to economy. Meanwhile, the strong growth momentum of the sports consumption in recent years makes it the core impetus to accelerate the development, upgrade and transformation of Chinese sports industry. Recently, the 2017 Consumption Development Report of Chinese Residents ("Report"), compiled by National Development and Reform Commission and co-complied by Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Culture, Health and Family Planning Commission, General Administration of Quality Supervision, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, General Administration of Sport, Tourism Administration, and National Bureau of Statistics, has evoked hot discussion and concern of the whole society, especially the practitioners in the sports industry, once it was published.

The Report has made a stir in sports circles, it is not only because it is the first annual report which reflects the consumption of Chinese residents, produces the authoritative and solid statistics of the sports consumption, fully discloses the eight hot spots of the sports consumption in 2017, and comprehensively clears up the development conditions and achievements of Chinese sports consumption, but also because it farsightedly analyzes the future six working key points and the policy direction of Chinese sports industry.

I. Engel's coefficient is lower than 30% for the first time; sports consumption will have an outburst.

The Report reveals that the retail sales of consumption goods in China in 2017 amount to 36.6 trillion yuan and the final consumption expenditure of 2017 accounts for 53.6% of GDP, which implies consumption has become the major impetus for Chinese economic growth and the consumption of Chinese residents is upgrading with speed. Engel's coefficient of the nationwide residents in 2017 amounts to 29.39%, which signifies China has stepped into the 20%-30% rich regions divided by the United Nations. It also means the Engel's coefficient of Chinese residents drops to below 30% for the first time since the founding of new China. The milestone shows the expenditure of Chinese residents in sports consumption will increase significantly.

II. Sports consumption of great potential: one of the "happy industries" and the "10 consumption enlarging actions"

If the Engel's coefficient of a country is up to the standard of the 20%-30% rich regions divided by the United Nations, residents in the country will have much greater consumption ability in the fields like culture, sports, tourism, wellness and elderly care. It should be noted that the five fields mentioned above are named "happy industries".

The national leaders named the tourism, culture, sports, wellness, and elderly care as "five happy industries" for the first time on the Summer Davos on June 27, 2016. In November 2016, General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Enlarging Consumption in Tourism, Culture, Sports, Wellness, Elderly Care and Education and Training, guiding the social capital to increase investment and release the potential consumption demand by improving service quality and increasing service supply, based on the five "happy industries".

Now in the Report, the consumption abilities in the five "happy industries" have been evaluated in detail. Compared to fast upgrading consumption in tourism and leisure, innovative developing consumption in culture, expanding consumption in wellness, and overall improving consumption in elderly care, the consumption in sports has been evaluated as "strong momentum", which means the country holds a positive view of the growth rate and prospect of the sports consumption, and sports occupy a special position in "happy industries".

In terms of sports consumption, sports is not only a special part of "happy industries" but also a major part of the "10 enlarging consumption actions" advocated by the National Development and Reform Commission. National Development and Reform Commission, by arrangement of the State Council, urged to grow the new impetus for economic development focusing on ten major directions, including the "enlarging action for sports consumption", in Action Plan for Promoting Upgrade and Transformation by Consumption on April 26, 2016. Since sports has been classified as "happy industry" and one of the "10 enlarging consumption actions", it has the potential to increase consumption.

III. Football, basketball and volleyball on the top of eight consumption hot spots

Though the detailed consumption data of 2017 have not been settled, the Report has disclosed that the overall scale (gross output) of the national sports industry amounts to 1901,13 billion yuan, with value added of 647,48 billion yuan, covering 0.9% GDP of the corresponding period. Gross output has increased by 11.1% since 2015 and the value added has increased by 17.8% from the perspective of the nominal growth. From the perspective of the internal structure, the top 3 sections of sports consumption include sports equipment and the related manufacturing industry, sports service industry (9 categories except sports goods and the related manufacturing industry and equipment construction of the sports places), as well as sports and leisure activities.

In 2017, more than 3 billion yuan has been invested into sports infrastructure construction to help the local areas build a batch of county-level public stadiums, community fitness centers, farmers physical fitness project, etc. General Administration of Sport published the first batch of 96 national special experimental towns for special sports and leisure in 2017, which provides new impetus to improve the supply ability of the sports consumption market.

The Report has detailedly elaborated the 8 hot spots of sports consumption in 2017, namely, football, basketball, volleyball, marathon, mountain sports, winter sports, aquatic sports, auto, motorcycle and air sports, sports tourism, and sports lotteries. The Report proposes to promote the implementation of the development planning for such special sports industries as winter sports, mountain sports, aquatic sports, and air sports to add some development potential to the sports industries.

IV. Six key work emphases for stimulating sports consumption in the future: six industrial chains being the major impetus

With regard to the future development direction of the sports industry, the Report places great expectations on the potential of sports industry to stimulate the national consumption, and believes that the national economic pillar industry will be built by improving the sustainable and healthy sports industry. The next step for stimulating the sports consumption has 6 key work emphases and policy directions. The three policy directions that most enlightening to the entrepreneurs in the sports industry are as follows:

Extending 6 industrial chains of sports, i.e. industrial chains of sports and leisure, intelligent sports, competitive performances, sports training, sporting goods manufacturing, and sports lotteries.

Training the sports enterprises and enterprise groups with international competitiveness as backbones, developing some traditional sports activity brands with local characteristics, building the world-level brands for sports competition and sports goods manufacturing, and developing the sports exhibition brands.

Building and improving the investment and financing mechanisms for the social capitals to join in the public sports equipment construction, improving the sports consumption skills of residents and the sports consumption policy, and encouraging the sports consumption.