Last Christmas Eve, one of the most iconic and controversial personalities of the German sporting goods retail landscape, passed away. Gerd Bittl senior died of cancer at the age of 74. Reportedly, the Munich-based sporting goods store chain and mail-order company that bears his name will remain family property, although local newspapers have been speculating about discussions held among his four children and other heirs about the future shareholding structure of the company. Until his death, the elder Bittl still held 51 percent of the shares. One of his sons, Stefan, has been joint managing director for many years. The firm was founded by Bittl's parents, Karl and Ottilie, as a small shoe shop in the northern part of Munich. Their son joined them ten years later and transformed Schuh Bittl step by step into a sports store. Developing his own concept of retailing, Bittl was, for example, a pioneer in the snowboard category, to which he dedicated a store as early as 1987. Simultaneously, he shaped his sporting goods retail operations as a price-breaker, notably when it comes to hardgoods for snow sports. Already before the era of e-commerce, the enfant terrible from uptown Munich shocked his competitors in the city center, SportScheck and Schuster, with extremely low price points. Gerd Bittl never felt worried about his very personal way to handle things and shook up the local retail sector. Currently, Sport Bittl operates three stores in and around Munich.

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