Sports & Outdoors E-commerce Insights
Sports & Outdoor E-commerce
Discover the fastest growing UK Sports & Outdoors e-commerce companies over the last 27 years!
By analysing the Fast Track 100 data, which ranks the UK’s top 100 fastest-growing private companies each year, we’ve seen how “Sports & Outdoors” e-commerce has changed from 1997 to 2024.
Key Insights:
- Cycling retailers were the biggest sub-category, making up 28% of the ‘Sports & Outdoors’ companies listed in the Fast Track 100 (1997-2024).
- UK sports saw growth from 2010 to 2014, buoyed by government health drives and London hosting the Olympics in 2012.
- Rapha is the only “Sports & Outdoor” company to feature in the Fast Track 100 list four times (2010, 2013-15).
- Four companies have featured in the Fast Track 100 list three times: Wiggle (2010-12), GO Outdoors (2010-12), Net World Sports (2016-17, 2022) and AYBL Group (2022-24).
| Award Year | Rank | Name | Activity | Location | Sales £000s | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 10 | Sports Division | Sports retailer | Ayrshire | 231,422 | 127.71% |
| 2006 | 93 | Up & Running | Running retailer | Harrogate | 5,009 | 64.12% |
| 2010 | 50 | Rapha | Cycling retailer | North London | 6,960 | 72.18% |
| 2010 | 86 | GO Outdoors | Outdoor retailer | Sheffield | 74,005 | 47.50% |
| 2010 | 91 | Wiggle | Cycling retailer | Portsmouth | 55,597 | 46.91% |
| 2011 | 30 | Surfdome.com | Outdoor retailer | Wembley | 7,261 | 92.11% |
| 2011 | 58 | Chain Reaction Cycles | Cycling retailer | County Antrim | 109,420 | 66.01% |
| 2011 | 80 | GO Outdoors | Outdoor retailer | Sheffield | 115,238 | 53.86% |
| 2011 | 85 | Wiggle | Cycling retailer | Portsmouth | 86,787 | 53.01% |
| 2012 | 90 | Wiggle | Cycling retailer | Portsmouth | 118,600 | 52.94% |
| 2012 | 94 | GO Outdoors | Outdoor retailer | Sheffield | 143,665 | 51.66% |
| 2012 | 100 | Chain Reaction Cycles | Cycling retailer | County Antrim | 136,448 | 49.72% |
| 2013 | 88 | Rapha | Cycling retailer | North London | 16,903 | 52.80% |
| 2014 | 61 | inov-8 | Sports shoes retailer | County Durham | 17,373 | 60.52% |
| 2014 | 74 | Rapha | Cycling retailer | North London | 28,121 | 53.99% |
| 2014 | 91 | Clubhouse Golf | Golf retailer | Manchester | 7,807 | 49.23% |
| 2014 | 100 | SportsShoes.com | Sports shoes retailer | West Yorkshire | 33,475 | 44.57% |
| 2015 | 94 | Rapha | Cycling retailer | North London | 38,850 | 44.38% |
| 2016 | 45 | Net World Sports | Sports retailer | Wrexham | 11,867 | 69.93% |
| 2017 | 85 | Net World Sports | Sports retailer | Wrexham | 18,230 | 51.61% |
| 2019 | 84 | Liforme | Yoga retailer | North London | 6,022 | 46.89% |
| 2020 | 95 | Sigma Sports | Sports retailer | Kingston upon Thames | 33,770 | 39.67% |
| 2022 | 1 | AYBL Group | Sportswear brand | Midlands | 23,500 | 359.01% |
| 2022 | 66 | LeMieux | Equestrian retailer | Southeast | 38,000 | 56.05% |
| 2022 | 91 | Net World Sports | Sports retailer | Wales | 70,020 | 46.29% |
| 2023 | 2 | Castore | Sportswear brand | Manchester | 115,000 | 285.80% |
| 2023 | 9 | Passenger | Outdoor retailer | Hampshire | 18,600 | 205.28% |
| 2023 | 15 | AYBL Group | Sportswear brand | Worcestershire | 29,900 | 169.37% |
| 2024 | 14 | Passenger | Outdoor retailer | New Forest | 34,300 | 170.92% |
| 2024 | 34 | Castore | Sportswear brand | Manchester | 190,300 | 123.59% |
| 2024 | 61 | ThruDark | Outdoor retailer | Poole | 10,100 | 89.52% |
| 2024 | 100 | AYBL Group | Sportswear brand | Redditch | 38,800 | 61.89% |
Want to learn more about the Rise of E-commerce in the UK
Click this link to read more about the “Rise of E-commerce in the UK from 1997-2024”.
Britain's fastest growing private companies from 1997-2024
What is the Fast Track 100?
The Fast Track 100 league table ranked Britain’s 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales over their latest three years. It is compiled by Fast Track and published in The Sunday Times each December. It ran from 1997 to 2020, until 30th June 2021 when the Fast Track company was closed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic causing too much uncertainty over continued sponsorship.
In 2022, The Sunday Times announced it was restarted the Fast Track 100. It is branded as – The Sunday Times Hundred 2022.
A typical Fast Track 100 company:
- is owned and run by entrepreneurs
- has between 20 and 500 staff
- has average 3 year sales growth ranging between 45% and 250% pa
- has sales ranging between £5m and £100m
- 25% of the companies have venture capital backing
Fast Track 100 League Tables 1997-2024
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