The Equine Business: The Spectacular Growth of a new Equine segment market in France

Gwenaëlle Grefe (1) , Sylvine Pickel-Chevalier (2)

1 LAREMA - Laboratoire Angevin de Recherche en Mathématiques
2 ESO - Espaces et Sociétés

A social revolution in riding has created incredible growth in the equine-product market. This new equine economy is, in fact, characterized by the range of activities available (32 riding styles are listed by the FFE 1), by riders' needs (equipment for both riders and their horses including fences, water troughs, horse-boxes etc.), by product ranges (from entry-level to luxury goods), but also by fashion which, thanks to the profile of today's horse-riders (predominantly female and young) has become a key part of the market. This enthusiasm has led to the development of businesses, the majority of which have appeared in the last thirty years in France (Antarès, CWD, GPA, Cheval Shop, EquipHorse, Fautras etc.). While they have become key references in the sector, and account for nearly half of all jobs related to the equine sector in France (38,900 agricultural jobs compared to 32,800 non-agricultural jobs including business, veterinary care, farriers and public bodies-IFCE 2 , 2011), their characteristics remain largely unexplored.

Mots clés: Equine; business; growth; market; innovation

Domaines: Géographie; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Gwenaëlle Grefe, Sylvine Pickel-Chevalier. The Equine Business: The Spectacular Growth of a new Equine segment market in France. Celine Vial; Rhys Evans. The New Equine Economy in the 21st Century,, 136, Wageningen Academic Publishers, pp.61- 76, 2015, EAAP Scientific Series, 978-90-8686-279-5. ⟨hal-01573221⟩