Universal-Sport, the largest franchisee of Intersport Switzerland with its eight stores, plus a Nike concept shop in Luasanne, has acquired two other Swiss retailers – Haueter Sport and the innovative retail concept Feel! Located in Münsingen, near Universal Sport’s head office in Bern, Haueter was mainly acquired to settle the succession for its 60-year-old owner, Jürg Haueter, who will continue to run his stand-alone store through 2010. By then, Haueter Sport is scheduled to be enlarged to a five-floor house.
Operating in Steffisburg in the same canton of Bern, Feel! is a unique format, with its net surface of more than 1,000 square meters mainly dedicated to hosting shop-in-shops for major sports brands including Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Chiemsee, Odlo, Falke, Peak Performance, O’Neill, Below Zero, Columbia Sportswear and Helly Hansen. Universal’s goal is to roll out the Feel! concept nationwide.
The company said that the acquisition of Haueter and Feel! adds significantly to Universal’s annual sales and secures Universal’s position as one of the top six sports retailers in the country. Universal has given Thomas Rüegsegger and Jürg Haueter, the former owners of Feel! and Haueter Sport, a contract until February 2010 to run the operating business of the three retail formats and to integrate the merged companies.
