Intersport Germany announced a tremendous sales score at Ispo by its affiliated retailers for the month of January 2009. Sales were up by 27 percent, largely due to splendid weather conditions. Usually such increases are recorded when the comparable month of the previous year saw poor results, but sales in January 2008 showed an increase of 13 percent.
Klaus Jost, president of the German buying group, said the first month of the year usually brings in €300 million at retail prices after VAT. Revenues soared in the first week of the year by 32 percent and in the second one by 54 percent. Sales were fueled by ski helmets, with many points of sale waiting desperately for new deliveries. Uvex and Alpina, the two brands under the Uvex helm, managed to catch up with Giro, reportedly the market leader in the region, due to having their own manufacturing facilities in the country and therefore more flexibility in deliveries.
The outdoor segment grew by 14 percent last year for Intersport, and among the top 10 brands sold by Intersport retailers, six were pure or outdoor-related suppliers including Schöffel, Lowa, Salomon, Odlo and The North Face. While Adidas and Nike continue to stand firmly as Nos. 1 and 2, Jack Wolfskin is now third, having overtaken Puma.
Aside from the euphoria about the latest figures, Jost cautions that it will probably get worse before it gets better again.
