Hervis Sport, the big integrated Austrian sports retail chain, was presented with the Retail Innovation Award 2021 in the “Best Online Solution” category by the Austrian Trade Association on the occasion of Tech Day on Nov. 18, 2021 in Vienna. The jury was particularly impressed by its newly created option given to its customers to receive direct advice for purchasing certain types of sports equipment from a Hervis salesperson via a bookable online video call.
This form of online consultation, which may turn out to be very useful during the current hard lockdown in Austria, is available for outdoor, ski touring, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, biking, fitness and running products. The service is available to customers from Austria as well as Germany. Intersport Tscherne, a large Austrian retail member of Intersport, has reportedly introduced a similar service, too.
“With our consistent omnichannel strategy, we are proving that the close integration of all channels fulfills the wishes of customers and is thus a major opportunity for the future of retail,” commented Oliver Seda, who heads up Hervis’ executive board. “Hervis is thus exploiting both a clear competitive advantage over pure online retail and providing a factor of success for its stores.”
Asked to comment on the current hard lockdown in Austria, Seda told us that it is being seen as a “disaster” for the winter season by the entire economy in Austria. He hopes that it will only last three weeks for the vaccinated people, as announced by the government. The lockdown will not directly affect skiing and other sports practiced in open places, but it will affect closed spaces like hotels and sports retail stores.
Hervis is a subsidiary of Spar. With around 240 locations in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Romania, Hervis is one of the largest specialist sports retailers in Central Europe.
