News briefs - Retail
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News briefsTarget jumps on the pickleball trend
Source: Prince Prince for Target US retail giant Target has announced a limited-time pickleball collection in collaboration with tennis and lifestyle brand Prince. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2023 Topline Participation Report, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, and now ...
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News briefsDecathlon UK partners with media agency Fifty
Decathlon UK has announced Fifty as its new media agency. The new agreement will see the sporting goods retailer and manufacturer leverage Fifty’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered audience insights technology for its media planning. Fifty will develop and execute Decathlon UK’s integrated media strategy across all media and channels. Fifty optimizes ...
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News briefsNBA opens expanded retail space in London
The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) has opened an official merchandise flagship store at 267-269 Oxford Street in London, close to Oxford Circus. The site had been occupied by JD Sports until 2015, and then by American candy shops. The new 830-sqm NBA location replaces the previous, smaller NBA flagship ...
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News briefsJD Sports Fashion opens flagship store on Paris’s Champs-Élysées
JD Sports Fashion debuts its global flagship store on Paris’s famed 118 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The store boasts cutting-edge digital technology and will offer “immersive experiences for shoppers”. Featuring top brands like Nike, Adidas, and New Balance, the store promises the latest in sports fashion. To mark the occasion, JD ...
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News briefsAmazon invests €700m in AI-powered tech and robotics across Europe
Amazon is using its Innovation Lab in Vercelli, northern Italy, to develop and test new technologies aimed at enhancing support for employees and customer satisfaction. Established in 2017, this lab is home to a team of scientists and engineers from all over the world, serving as the hub for the ...
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News briefsXXL appoints former H&M executive Dawid Gosciniak as COO
Norwegian retailer XXL is bolstering its team by appointing Dawid Gosciniak to a newly created role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for all of XXL’s markets. Gosciniak will work on enhancing the chain’s omnichannel approach, refining the store concept, optimizing the customer journey, and ensuring the highest possible efficiency ...
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News briefsTFG introduces JD Sports to South African market
South Africa is set to welcome the arrival of British sportswear giant JD Sports, courtesy of The Foschini Group (TFG), through an exclusive franchise agreement. TFG’s CEO Anthony Thunström highlighted the move as an expansion of their sports portfolio, leveraging their existing brands like Sportscene, Totalsports, and Sneaker Factory. Thunström ...
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News briefsSpanish e-commerce up in first nine months of 2023
Online sales in Spain for the first nine months of 2023 rose by 25.1 percent year-on-year, from €2.654 to €3.320 billion, according to Palco23, which cites the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). The sports sector accounted for €1.792 billion, or 54 percent, of the nine-month total for 2023 ...
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News briefsFrasers Group bolsters EMEA expansion with Twin Sport acquisition
Frasers Group is set to acquire Twin Sport, a prominent Dutch sporting goods retailer. The acquisition agreement entails Frasers Group acquiring all shares in Twin Sport Holding B.V., a key player in the Dutch sports retail landscape and part of the Intersport franchise under EKS Netherlands. Twin Sport, with 17 ...
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News briefsHeydude opens German online shop
Shoe brand Heydude, which belongs to Crocs, has announced the launch of its own online shop for the German market. The brand is already available in nearly 1,500 shops in Germany. Starting in May, it will also be available via Berlin-based e-tailer Zalando. Earlier this year, Heydude announced an aggressive ...
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News briefsDecathlon opens 177th store in Spain
Decathlon has opened its 177th store in Spain, this time in Cáceres, an autonomous community of Extremadura, according to CMDsport and Tradesport. The store appears to be a moved Decathlon City from the same general location. The company operates four stores in Extremadura. Located at the Way Cáceres mall, the ...
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News briefsSportsShoes.com hires Partnerships Coordinator to boost community engagement
Source: SportsShoes.com Georgia Malir, new Partner Coordinator at SportsShoes.com SportsShoes.com has appointed its first Partnerships Coordinator to enhance its engagement with running and fitness communities. Georgia Malir, previously with Saucony, takes on this role, managing the retailer’s partnerships strategy and overseeing relations with over 1,000 running clubs ...
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News briefsFormer Kaufhof owner reportedly taking over Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof
According to German business publication Handelsblatt, US investor NRDC Equity Partners is to be granted the contract to operate the 92 locations of the German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. NRDC is the investment company of Canadian entrepreneur Richard Baker, who also owns a majority stake in the North ...
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News briefsSpanish trade union sues Decathlon
Spanish trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) has filed a lawsuit against Decathlon, claiming that the sports retailer and manufacturer is “violating the fundamental right to freedom of association.” The complaint was filed on April 3. Decathlon is also accused of denying the union’s delegates access to information about the working ...
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News briefsIntersport Germany to increase number of physical stores by a quarter
Intersport Deutschland is planning to add 100 new own-branded stores across the country over the next six years, the Financial Times has reported. This would bring the number of outlets it operates in the country to 500. The expansion plan will reportedly target medium-sized cities like Wiesbaden, Trier and Hanau, ...
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News briefsFrasers Group expands Sports Direct with flagship stores in London
Frasers Group is expanding its Sports Direct brand with the opening of two new flagship stores in London’s Westfield shopping centers. Scheduled for next year, the stores in Westfield London and Westfield Stratford will each cover around 28,000 to 29,000 square feet, offering cutting-edge retail experiences. Ger Wright, Managing Director ...
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News briefsSport 2000 with new Absolute Run store in the Netherlands
On April 4, 2024, the Absolute Run Runnercoach opened in Hoofddorp (Netherlands) after a redesign of the original running school. The retailer network Sport 2000 and long-standing partner Dennis van Bakel, who has been operating his very successful running school for years, realized the project Owner van Bakel said ...
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News briefsDecathlon Germany sets new sales record in 2023
Despite a challenging environment, Decathlon Deutschland SE & Co. KG – the German subsidiary of the globally active French sporting goods retailer and manufacturer Decathlon SA – closed the 2023 financial year with another sales record. With total gross sales of €1.11 billion, Decathlon Germany, which now has 87 ...
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News briefsVF Corp. plans to open 300 stores in expansion strategy
VF Corp. is restructuring its distribution strategy to tap into underexploited markets, particularly in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Expanding its existing partnership with retail conglomerate GMG, VF Corp. plans to open 300 stores across these regions for brands like Vans, The North Face and Timberland within ...
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News briefsJD Sports announces expansion into South Africa
JD Sports Fashion has partnered with Foschini Retail Group, a subsidiary of The Foschini Group Limited (TFG), to launch the JD brand in South Africa. Over 40 JD stores are set to open across the country in the next five years, with the first expected by the end of 2024. ...
