Snowflakes spun through the air while SPORT 2000 was holding their press conference on the opening day of ISPO Munich 2019. These are weather conditions that sports retailers love - after all, they promise good sales in the ski and outdoor sector.
When presenting the figures for 2018, Managing Director Andreas Rudolf is in a good spirit: "We may not have reached the summit yet, but we are well on our way. Our partners are healthy as never before. And we are also extremely well positioned in terms of earnings and the future."
With a growth of 0.3 percent in the external sales of the partners, the targeted mark of 3 percent was missed. On the other hand, in a difficult market environment with a decline in frequency of four percent, the number of partner dealers rose by 26 to 1025. According to managing director colleague Hans-Hermann Deters, many partners are pleased about a better operating result - thanks to the sale of higher-priced goods and successful offers such as the boot fitting service.
One example of the increase in returns: the average price of ski boots rose from 222 euros in 2015 to 245 euros in 2018. The adjustment of the inner shoe and soles come on top. Still, according to Rudolf "the cooperation on the Gripwalk system in the industry must become better".
The increase in sales of ski boots was 4.2 percent. Compared to the previous year, the textile team sports segment performed even better with a plus of 12.1 percent and the running shoes segment with a growth of 7.5 percent. In the outdoor segment, on the other hand, it fell by 3.4 percent. According to Rudolf, this is "because of the long summer." Rudolf says that SPORT 2000 has successfully established itself in the lifestyle/sneaker trend area with its "Sneaker Force" range for specialists.
In 2019, SPORT 2000 will especially focus on a personnel offensive. "The biggest challenge is to get good staff on the site," says Rudolf. Only with the personality, expertise and passion of the employees it is possible to convey the SPORT 2000 brand core "with a human touch". Furthermore, it is important to improve the customer experience in the shops.
One driver for this are the so-called absolute shops for the specialists within the network. The first team sports partner in the new look has been in existence since September 2018, the first running shop in the new design will be opened in Bonn in spring.
Also, the children's ski exchange system "Kinder-Club" presented at the ISPO Munich will be in focus this year. "We want to get the children back into the snow. Already next winter 120 partners will offer this system", Rudolf promised. Another megatrend is individualization, where the dealer group intends to expand its range of tailor-made products.
There are interesting developments at the top suppliers of SPORT 2000: just behind the market leaders Adidas and Nike, Puma has worked its way up to the 3rd place. New in the top 20 are Hummel and Derbystar, two companies from the medium-sized sector.
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