The first conference of the ISPO Academy France ended last Thursday in Paris. At the EM LYON Business School campus, around 100 managers from the sports sector met to exchange views on current and future challenges for retailers.

In addition to presentations by business school lecturer Antoine Haincourt and Bertrand Chovet (Better BrandBetterBusiness), ObSoCo President Nathalie Damery exclusively presented the results of her latest business study to the participants.

According to this study, around 75 percent of customers do not buy their sporting goods from specialist retailers, but in larger department stores. Most of the articles are purchased not only for themselves but also for other people. The biggest motivation for shopping in the retail store is the "experiential".

64 percent of respondents asked the internet before buying a product. 37 percent of consumers evaluate a product in a store and then buy it in another store or online.

In addition, Andre Ségura (Pdg Go Sport Group), Yannick Morat (Ekosport), Matthieu Pellet (Intersport) and Thomas Rouault (Snowleader) spoke about current developments and points of view in sports retail and the training of employees.

Afterwards, the participants were able to get an idea of how the latest technologies repeatedly redefine the sports retail in the pitches of four start-ups.

The most important conclusion of the day: the store will be the heart of tomorrow's trade, especially when it comes to the application of new technologies, the further development of the product range and services for customers and the establishment of an efficient logistics chain.