Continuing the progress already achieved, Intersport International Corporation reports an overall sales increase of 3.2 percent for its affiliated sports retailers around the world in 2019, reaching a total retail turnover of €12.3 billion after VAT in terms of euros and recovering from growth of only 0.7 percent in the previous year.
Sales went up in all quarters, including the fourth one, which is critical for Intersport because of its heavy winter sports business. Despite extremely warm temperatures in many regions, sales rose by 3.9 percent in the last three months of 2019.
This relatively positive development was attributed by IIC to the implementation of the group’s new Intersport 2.0 strategy, which focuses on initiatives in category management, data management, exclusive brands, elevated store concept, digital and omnichannel as well as strong partnerships with strategic brands.
Growth took place in spite of a further reduction in the number of affiliated physical stores. They were 5,421 at the end of 2019, down from 5,562 at the end of 2018 and 5,647 at the end of 2017. While developing e-commerce in one way or another, many retail members are setting up bigger stores.
By the end of last year, Intersport was represented in 43 countries. As previously reported, Intersport recently enter new cooperation agreements with Suning in China and Momentum Sports in Taiwan.
The figures don’t include those of The Athlete’s Foot, the more lifestyle-oriented franchising operation acquired by IIC in December 2012, which continued to develop faster in the past year. The banner’s franchisees, many of whom are also Intersport franchisees, raised their sales by 11 percent to € 0.4 billion.
The TAF store network counted 561 stores in 30 markets at the end of 2019, coming up from 537 stores in 2018. Combining its two retail banners, the Intersport Group was represented in 57 countries on five continents with a retail turnover of €12.2 billion including VAT.
New energy is coming into the Intersport group under the management of Steve Evers, who became its new chief executive at the beginning of last year. Expressing optimism about the future development of the group, he said that Intersport wants to “physically, digitally and emotionally – in a sustainable manner – connect consumers to the heart of sport.”
With this in mind, the Intersport Group is launching a new series of campaigns to help consumers find their place in sport. The idea is based on an international consumer survey of over 1,600 customers in the UK, Germany and France. The key finding: Everyone needs a place in sport. The research revealed that 66 percent of the respondents said that they still haven’t found their place in sport, with 88 percent admitting that they don’t see themselves as athletes.
Going under the name “Wherever You Take Training,” Intersport’s new international campaigns come with a new brand platform - “Heart of Sport” - telling real stories from local communities. It is aimed at reminding people that wherever they enjoy their sport, Intersport has the right products, advice and enthusiasm.
The first two parts of the campaign started in mid-January, featuring a strong woman in Scotland and an inner-city champion in London who trains kids in an outdoor callisthenics gym operated by the Steel Warriors, a charity that takes steel knives from the street and recycles their metal to use it in its fixtures. It will be followed by two more chapters in February, with two German runners taking the sport to unexpected places and levels.
The campaigns are based on the fact that Intersport is a “hyper-local” retailer, says Evers. They were developed by an Amsterdam-based creative agency, We Are Pi, which had won the global Intersport Agency of Record account in early 2019.
The campaigns will run on TV, on social media, in print, in-store and in other formats in 12 European countries, including the five major ones, as well as in China and Australia.
Picture: courtesy of Intersport
