21sportsgroup, the German retail group that acquired Planet Sports last year, has snapped up another online specialist, Vaola, a German retailer focusing on outdoor, running and football products. 21sportsgroup said Vaola will continue to be run independently. Its parent company, Mysportsgroup, will become one of the group's three subsidiaries, along with Planet Sports and VR Bike.
Vaola's multi-language website gives customers a choice among more than 100,000 sports products by over 450 top brands at “fair prices.” The web store came on stream in 2014 by connecting the Mysportworld online shop with a shopping club called Mysportsbrands, which had been launched in 2010 by Mysportgroup.
The buyer of Vaola said the acquisition occurred through a share swap with the former shareholders of Mysportgroup. They obtained shares in 21sportsgroup for an undisclosed amount.
21sportsgroup previously specialized in running and triathlon products with its 21run online store, and two stores in Mannheim, where the company is established. It moved into the action sports market when it purchased Planet Sports last year.
21sportsgroup since last year is a member of STMI, the joint buying organization for several European retailers that also comprises Hervis in Austria, Go Sport in France, Sport XX in Switzerland and Forum Sport in Spain.
As previously reported, the acquisition of Planet Sports was delayed but finalized in March, and 21sportsgroup has since stated that it was leading a recovery at the action sports company, which runs an online store and 12 stationary stores. The company estimated that the turnover of Planet Sports would increase by 20 percent to €60 million for 2015. It added that Planet Sports could break even in the second half of the year.
