On March 17, Intersport Sverige opened a 3,000-square-meter Intersport megastore on Drottninggatan in Stockholm, next to a Stadium store and where 75,000 people on average pass every day. Another 12 to 18 Intersport superstores based on the same format are planned in major Swedish cities. The format is a slightly adapted version of the “Sport to the People” concept developed by Intersport International, which was first launched by Intersport Sverige in Gothenburg two years ago. It has been since replicated in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Korea, Russia, Greece and Austria, with positive results. Two more doors are scheduled to come on stream in downtown Helsinki on April 7 and in Cairo next June. Among other new elements, the concept launched in Stockholm features more rounded shapes and less massive shoe walls. The focus is not only on products but also on providing customers with special experiences: There is a climbing wall for children and an area to try out tennis racquets. The investment, which had been in the pipeline for more than one year, comes at a time where competition in the Swedish sporting goods market is heating up with the arrival of XXL from Norway, to be followed, probably soon, by Décathlon's first entry into the country and by a newcomer, Usports.

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