Introduction

Based on past ways of doing things, the sporting goods were mostly made available for people who were considered professionals in the sport. This way of doing things has drastically changed over the years whereby the availability of sporting goods has been made available to almost anyone with an interest. Therefore, for one to choose the most favourable sporting good, one needs to consider a number of factors. These factors include versatility, costs of the goods, durability among others. Therefore, for the purpose of this research paper, we are going to focus on the choice of sports clothing while taking into account the following factors. The paper will delve into comparing the choice of sports clothing among various brands within the sporting industry. These brands include; Adidas, Puma, Under Armour and Nike.

Price

To start with, we have the price of sporting cloth. Something to note is that sporting activities are highly favoured across the world by a number of people. As such, for people to effectively and efficiently benefit from these numerous sporting activities, people need the right type of sporting clothes. Therefore, to procure the right type of sporting wear depends majorly on the prices on the various local stores and also online stores depending on the nature of the brands in the market. In the world today, many brands have managed to increase their sales through the establishment of online stores so as to reach a larger audience in terms of potential customers (Goldsmith & Goldsmith, 2002). Through this, they have been able to cut down on the prices that they offer when compared to the prices in the physical stores across the world. However, it is worth noting that the various brands such as Adidas, Puma, Under Armour and Nike have different prices within the market. Being that Nike is the leading brand globally, it happens that it has taken the mantle of distancing itself from the rest in terms of price. This has been made possible through the partnerships and the marketing and advertising resources that the company has invested in their campaigns (Islam & Deegan, 2010). Through this, regardless of the prices on their sporting clothes, they have managed to maintain a steady amount of sales over the years. The other companies are making the best of the opportunity to stay ahead by maintaining a substantial amount in terms of prices on their sporting clothes but they have not managed to reach the peaks that have been soared by Nike.

Comfort

When making a choice for sporting clothes, it is crucial for comfort to be a high priority. This is to mean, it should be able to generate a sense of being light during the vigorous exercises that are taking place and also be able to soak the sweat that is being produced (Bartels, 2005). Through this, it will reveal the length that the sporting wear can go in terms of withstanding the sporting rigour. As such, each sporting wear is suited to a specific sport of exercise. For example, a rugby player may not feel comfortable wearing a cloth meant for a basketball player. In addition, apart from comfort, the sporting wear is likely to be torn or ripped off from the body hence making playing the sport cumbersome and below the required or needed standards. When comfort is compared among the four mentioned companies, that is, Adidas, Puma, Under Armour and Nike, the level of comfort among them is fairly similar. This is because of the status and the level of duty and customer satisfaction that they have on their customers. Being that they are in different levels in terms of the best brands globally does not necessarily mean that one sporting wear brand is designed poorly or another is much more of quality than the rest (Song, 2011). However, as with everything else, people have different tastes and when it comes to comfort in terms of sporting wear brands there is no exception.

High quality and stain-resistant fabric

Bearing in mind that the sporting cloth is used on a daily basis while being washed also every day, it is important that the fabric used in their manufacturing is of high quality. This will ensure that they last longer so as to meet the high prices that they were procured with (Venkatraman, 2015). However, it should be noted that professional athletes tend to use sporting wear only once for each activity and it is discarded. The reason for this is because of the numerous partnerships that they have under their belt with a ton of brands which are hungry to have the professional athletes wear their sporting wear so as to help them in advertising and also the positioning of their product together with the segmentation of the product within the market. Regardless of this, the sporting wear needs to be of high quality because of the intense sporting activities that professional athletes are subjected to. Looking at the four companies and the type of fabric used in the manufacturing of their sporting clothes, it is sustainable to meet the standards that are required for the best performance a sporting individual or professional athlete can ask for. Through this, they have been able to maintain their status as one of the best brands globally when it comes to sportswear.

Size and other factors

When choosing a sporting cloth, it is vital for the size to be a high priority. The reason for this is because it engulfs the aspects of comfort and tear. By this, we mean that they should be properly fitting the individual wearing them and not to be loose as this will result in cases of discomfort and eventually a fail with regards to exercises and even the actual competitions. A good example of proper size and success in sports is the design of a shoe and its proper fitting size on an individual so as to prevent injuries when it comes to individuals taking part in sport climbing (Van der Putten & Snijders, 2001). In line with this, the issue of size among the four companies has been effectively addressed across the board as they have ensured that they have catered for almost all body sizes that are humanly possible. In order to meet the demands on size, the companies have set up a system whereby some individuals who find that their size if lacking, can fit their measurements and the company can personally manufacture for them their exact size. Even though this system is highly beneficial, it comes with some challenges whereby it is available in certain countries and also it is not that cheap.

Other factors to consider when choosing sports clothing include; design/style, pattern/colour, the durability of garment, breathability of the fabric used to manufacture, allergies within the fabric, prestige designer label, warmth level, functionality and formality, weather resistance, washing instructions, alterability and the ability for it to match with the existing pairs of clothes in the wardrobe.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the choice of sports clothing is something that should be given attention within the sports clothing industry as it serves as a foundation for the growth of various careers, companies and even benefits associated with health and lifestyle.

References

Bartels, V. T. (2005). Physiological comfort of sportswear. In Textiles in sport (pp. 177-203). Woodhead Publishing.

Goldsmith, R. E., & Goldsmith, E. B. (2002). Buying apparel over the Internet. Journal of Product & Brand Management.

Islam, M. A., & Deegan, C. (2010). Media pressures and corporate disclosure of social responsibility performance information: a study of two global clothing and sports retail companies. Accounting and business research, 40(2), 131-148.

Song, G. (Ed.). (2011). Improving comfort in clothing. Elsevier.

Van der Putten, E. P., & Snijders, C. J. (2001). Shoe design for prevention of injuries in sport climbing. Applied Ergonomics, 32(4), 379-387.

Venkatraman, P. D. (2015). Fabric Properties and Their Characteristics. Materials and Technology for Sportswear and Performance Apparel, 53-86.

My Choice of Sports Clothing