Final answer:
The sports apparel market's high costs for branding, advertising, and product demand creation serve as barriers to entry, reducing the threat of new entrants.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question addresses a characteristic of the sports apparel market, highlighting the high costs associated with branding, advertising, and product demand creation.
These capital expenditures constitute important barriers to entry for new competitors.
As a result, the significant investment required in these areas reduces the threat of new entrants into the market, as it becomes prohibitively expensive for many potential newcomers to compete on the same level as established brands.