An important new key word at Intersport France is “coaching,” and it may be adopted by some other national Intersport organizations around Europe as a way to express the notion of “expert advice” that the banner is trying to project as an element of differentiation, particularly against Décathlon, the national leader. Intersport France is make ample using of the term in new television advertising and in a new store concept that it has begun to implement in Metz and in other locations.
This and other initiatives are part of a new strategic development plan for the 2007/12 period led by Joël Amaury, president of Intersport France and a key member of Intersport International’s retail development team. The goal of the plan is to raise margins and sales per square meter, while improving brand image and customer satisfaction.
The “coaching” concept is illustrated in the new store layout by the presence of “coaching points” in all the product departments where well-trained salespeople can advise clients on the best items for a specific type of sport, with large posters and puppets to tell a story. The salespeople will point the customers to the leaders in a category and to their challengers.
They will also be able to suggest lower-priced alternatives to the major brands in Intersport’s wide range of private label products, although the competition with Décathlon in France is restricting their weight to about 12 percent of the average store’s turnover.
To compete with Décathlon, Intersport France is telling customers in its advertising that they should also look at prices, which are heavily stressed for low-entry products and promotions in the new store format. While working closely with the 10 major brands, which represent about 40 percent of the affiliated retailers’ turnover, the buying group is boosting the capacity of its distribution center in Lyon to handle a larger number of private label items in a never-out-of-stock situation.
The new store layout proposed by Intersport France is designed to reduce costs by 20 percent, thanks primarily to lighter and more modular display structures. A stronger emphasis on active sports and function will mean that areas like fitness and outdoor will be more relevant when the customer enter the stores, as opposed to fashion, but women-specific products will also have a major presence.
The French cooperative is also gearing up to offer the possibility to order some products over the internet. It already uses the web widely for ski rentals.
The management of Intersport France sees a potential for about ten renovations per month to the new format, which is also simpler and more contemporary. At the same time it expects 25-30 new stores to be added to its network annually in 2008 and 2009. Most of the new stores are likely to be set up by the group’s existing 320 retail members, many of whom have been opened their second or third store lately. Each member runs on average 1.64 percent of the outlets in the network.
Between 2001 and 2006, the members of Intersport France have jointly raised their market share in the country from 8.6 percent to 11.8 percent. The number of affiliated stores rose by 11.8 percent in the period, but their surface increased by 57 percent and their sales by only 53 percent to a total of €1,050 million.
