Signa Retail has appointed Matthias Rucker, a partner of the Boston Consulting Group, as the new CEO of SportScheck, in replacement of Thomas Wanke. Starting on Oct. 1, he will be tasked with expanding the digital transformation of the German sporting goods retail chain into an experiential platform for sports enthusiasts, offering a wider range of services beyond actual products. He will also try to create new connections with other operations of the Signa group, such as its 16 remaining Karstadt Sports stores and Signa Sports United (SSU), the leading online sporting goods retailing group that is about to go public.
SportScheck, which currently operates a strong web store, 31 physical stores and three factory outlets, had already developed its e-commerce and services in the area of sports training, travel and events, even before its acquisition by Signa early last year. A subsidiary of SSU’s, Fahrrad.de, has a presence in SportScheck’s flagship store in Munich. Another one, Tennis Point, has corners in the SportScheck stores in Karlsruhe and Dortmund.
Rucker has been focusing on restructuring and digitalization in the retail sector for the past 13 years. After seven years with A.T. Kearney, he spent three years at Metro, leading its reorganization in Germany and running its Austrian subsidiary. Since 2017, he has been a managing director and partner of the Boston Consulting Group, specializing in the digital transformation of retail companies in Germany and Austria.
Wanke is leaving SportScheck to become chief operating officer of the German Sinn multi-label fashion chain. After four years as chief sales officer for the Karstadt department store chain, he was made CEO of Karstadt Sports in November 2017 and then, in March 2020, CEO of SportScheck. He also led for a while the sporting goods operations of Kaufhof. Both Karstadt and Kaufhof have also gradually become the property of Signa Retail in the past few years.
