It all started in 1997 when, on the instructions of FEDAS (the European Federation of Sporting Goods Retail Associations), a task force (FEDAS Standardization Organization FSO) made up of representatives from
European sporting goods retailers and international manufacturers started work on the standardization of sporting goods product data.
One year later, the FEDAS product classification key (PCK) was produced and made
available for online purchase on the Internet. Today, the PCK, already
successfully applied in several countries (mainly in Europe), comprises
more than 5.000 product groups, being continuously updated and adapted
to the needs of the trade and of sporting goods manufacturers.
In September 2016, our organization has changed its name to SGI-DHO (Sporting Goods Industry Data Harmonization Organization) as our activities are not limited to Europe anymore.
Our goal is to constantly improve our product classification key (PCK) to match the requirements of the sporting goods industry, and to promote and spread it into the whole sporting goods industry. All major actors of the sporting goods industry are part of our task force and make sure that our PCKs cover all their needs. In addition it is our intention where there are no international standards are available, to develop and promote further commercial codes for our industry (color codes, size codes, gender, ...) .
In this sense, a further major update of the FEDAS PCK was undertaken in May 2024 to cover the needs of the outdoor industry better, adding 3 new acivities (climbing, canyoning/ caving, mountaineering) and overhauling others.
