Dr. Regina Henkel
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Dr. Regina Henkel

Digitization in the Sports Business

New Investment Round at Keller Sports: 10 Million Euro for Further Digitization

The Munich-based online specialist Keller Sports was able to secure fresh money once again. A total of ten million euros will be invested in the expansion of the premium membership, the Keller sMiles App and its community, as well as in the further development of the online shops.

The management of the Keller Group intends to continue investing in digital tools (from left to right): Moritz Keller, Marcus Trute and Jakob Keller.
The management of the Keller Group intends to continue investing in digital tools (from left to right): Moritz Keller, Marcus Trute and Jakob Keller.

In the Corona year, Keller Group GmbH, to which the two online shops Keller Sports (Performance) and Keller x (Lifestyle) belong, was again able to convince its investors. In this year's investment round, the company raised ten million euros in fresh funds. The strong sales growth, which was driven primarily by digital services, and the disproportionately high increase in profitability were well received in times of great uncertainty. With this financing, the Co-Investor Group as the main investor and Reimann Investors are expanding their involvement with the Keller Group. All previous investors will also remain on board.

Expansion of Digital Service and Community Tools

The Group intends to use the money primarily to expand its digital service assets and develop them further in a visionary manner. This includes the Keller sMiles sports rewards app, which was launched in 2018 and has already attracted over 60,000 participants in Keller sMiles Challenges this year. "That's more participants than at the world's biggest marathon in New York," says Moritz Keller, co-founder and CEO of the Keller Group.
The paid Premium Membership, which offers customers access to exclusive products, price advantages and services, is also to be promoted. As a third pillar, the new funds will help to take the consumer experience in the internationally operating online shops of Keller Sports and Keller x to the "next level", says Moritz Keller.

Investment in "Smart Data"

Further development also includes the expansion of strategic relationships with suppliers with even more intensive digital integration. "Since last year we have been dedicated to an innovative predictive analytics project," explains Marcus Trute, Managing Director of Keller Group. "This project significantly improves the quality of sales, purchasing and marketing planning and ultimately has a positive effect on sales, margin development and other key figures." The project aims to significantly improve merchandise planning and control on both sides.

"We are very pleased that we were able to successfully conclude our planned financing round. Due to the current uncertain economic situation, this renewed strong confidence in our company was not a matter of course. We are now optimally positioned to continue the strong growth of recent years," says Jakob Keller, co-founder and managing director of Keller Group. "After the developments of the past years and months, we are more convinced than ever that the Keller Group will establish itself as a sustainable, digitally driven winner in the sports and lifestyle market," adds Dr. Ralph Eric Kunz, partner of the Co-Investor Group and member of the advisory board at Keller.

 

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Dr. Regina Henkel
Author:
Dr. Regina Henkel
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