There is nothing official yet, but according to Dutch officials involved in the transaction, Euretco and Intres, the Dutch buying groups that run the Sport 2000 and Intersport banners in the Netherlands, respectively, have firmed up plans to retain Intersport as their only joint licensed banner if their intended merger is approved in the coming weeks.
In the merger, however, Euretco, which has been licensing the Sport 2000 banner, would come out as the majority shareholder in a joint company called Euretco.
The two retail organizations were not allowed to retain both banners, due to objections from the Dutch competition authority (NMa) as well as the international license-holders of Intersport and Sport 2000. Approval for the merger itself is still pending from the NMa, as well as the works councils of both buying groups and the general assembly of the members of Intres, scheduled for March 5.
Should the merger to ahead, the Intersport banner would be managed by Jan-Willem Juffer, who already takes care of the Intersport network at Intres. He would report to Steve Evers, head of retail banners at Euretco.
Euretco says that it would lead the search for another partner for the stores currently affiliated to Sport 2000 in the Netherlands, although many of them may be tempted to rejoin the Intersport network, according to sources. Euretco currently has three assets relating to Sport 2000 International: the retail license for the Netherlands; its business portfolio consisting of franchise deals with retailers, who run 104 Sport 2000 stores; and its share in Sport 2000 International.
As reported before, the apparently most logical partner would be ANWR, which runs the Fair Play International Sports organization in the Benelux countries, but Euretco indicates that several other Dutch parties have come forward. Euretco's intention at present is to transfer the business to another party as it stands today, implying that none of the current Sport 2000 retailers would switch to Intersport.
Although the merger would not integrate Sport 2000 stores, it would enlarge the scope of the joint entity in the sports market. In fact, Euretco brings in several other assets, particularly the Coach and Runners' World banners, as well its relationship with independent sports retailers, for whom it handles central settlements. This group is called Sport Point at Euretco and would be bundled with a similar unit called GOS at Intres.
The choice in favor of Intersport instead of Sport 2000 has been partly motivated by the fact that this banner has a more dominant position in the Dutch market, in terms of sales as well as brand recognition.
On the other hand, Sport 2000 apparently performed better than Intersport and several other leading sports retailers in the Netherlands last year. The sporting goods market is estimated to have declined by more than 8 percent, due to unseasonable weather in the summer and the winter.
