Base Detall Sport returned to pre-lockdown levels of revenue in 2020. Sell-in amounted to €70 million, up by 19 percent, while the buying group’s associated stores posted sales of about €175 million.
Speaking with Diffusion Sport, CEO Toni Maristany ascribes the resurgence to the three pillars of Base’s triennial plan: verticalization, omnichannel sales and internationalization.
In the future, said Maristany, 80 percent of the selection in Base’s associated stores will be the same. Indeed, the buying group has been turning down prospective retail members that would rather gain access to certain big brands than abide by the whole Base business concept. Base has put together a commission of experts to lay down a winning product mix and thereby, according to Maristany, free up store management to focus on sales. There is some margin for local adjustments, however.
At any rate, one objective for the coming year is to ensure “strict application of the corporate image.”
So much for verticalization. The omnichannel dimension is an ongoing concern. Online sales remain “a small fraction of our revenues,” but almost 280 points of sale have been set up to handle click-and-collect orders. In recent months, moreover, new websites launched for Base and Wanna Style, and the online brand portfolio has expanded to 30, with a 60 percent rise in distinct items for sale.
Last year Base’s store count decreased by four, to about 280. One of these is in Andorra. There are 22 Wanna Sneakers stores and one Wanna Style store, the rest operating under the Base banner. In aggregate Base has about 60,000 square meters of salesfloor.
Five of Base’s stores are in Portugal, but there are long-term plans to raise the total to 30. The first of these will be Wanna Style, in partnership with a local outfit called Brands Leaders.
Otherwise, Base has been rejecting offers to merge with other buying groups. “We maintain an open channel with other collectives, out of professional interest and to keep good relations, but without considering any deals.”
“Own-brands,” meanwhile, “contribute neither to our image nor to our profits and constitute more of a problem than a solution,” and “buying days have turned out to be of little use as a format, for suppliers and associates alike.”
