The European outdoor market rose by 5 percent at the retail level in 2016 excluding snow sports, according to the NPD Group, and by 4 percent including that segment. NPD has also estimated that the global sporting goods market, including bicycles, advanced by 6 percent in terms of local currencies last year, reaching a level of $420 million. It was driven by fitness clothing. More on this in SGI Europe, which has just published its annual ranking of the major sports and outdoor retailers around the world, led by Decathlon.