Dosenbach-Ochsner, the leading Swiss shoe and sports retailer, suffered – much like its competitors in the country – from the weather and the effect of a strong Swiss franc last year. The total turnover of the company posted a 5.9 percent decline to 893 million Swiss francs (€741.8m-$988.1m) from CHF 949 million in the previous year.
Company officials declined to give precise figures for the Ochsner Sport banner alone, which is the country's leading sporting goods retail chain, stating that the family-owned group gives those figures sometimes – and sometimes not. It did so last year when the chain mentioned a 6 percent rise in turnover to CHF 426 million (€353.9m-$471.4m) for 2010. Dosenbach-Ochsner is not always open to giving detailed figures since it is owned by the German family-run Deichmann group, Europe's largest shoe retailer. A spokesperson confirmed that the number of Ochsner Sport doors increased from 80 to 89 during last year.
On the other hand, the company said its total sales of footwear remained stable in volume at 12.8 million pairs. The Swiss company also owns two chains of shoe shops, Dosenbach and Ochsner.
It is safe to say, however, that Ochsner Sport suffered from detrimental weather conditions in the two halves of last year's winter seasons – as did its competitor SportXX (see story below). An additional factor was the ongoing strength of the Swiss franc, which makes many Swiss customers travel abroad for shopping.
Dosenbach-Ochsner, however, made some important investments that are set to stabilize or increase sales, notably in the sport segment. Last year, Dosenbach launched its own web shop. More important was its involvement in Snipes, the German retailer of sport-inspired shoes and clothing whose Swiss business is carried out by Ochsner.
On top of this, Dosenbach-Ochsner secured the license for the Fila brand for Europe, excluding the U.K., Ireland and Russia, where Fila is handled through JD Sports Fashion (the U.K. and Ireland) and Sportmaster (Russia). Another investment by the Swiss retail group was the building of new headquarters worth CHF 25 million (€20.8m-$27.7m). Details about the Fila license could not be obtained at the time of going to press.
Back on Dec. 1, Dosenbach-Ochsner appointed Frank Geisler as a member of the executive board, mainly in charge to run the business unit of Ochsner Sport. In this function, he replaced Patrice Dupasquier, who continues to head up the executive board of Dosenbach-Ochsner. Before his appointment in Switzerland, Geisler worked at Karstadt Sport, the specialty retail branch of the German department store chain, where he was in charge of purchasing.
Ochsner's parent company, Deichmann, increased its total sales last year by 5 percent to €4.13 billion after VAT. It sold 156 million pairs of shoes, compared with 152 million in 2010. The number of doors increased from 2,939 to 3,175 in 22 countries.
