After 17 more stores joined Sport 2000’s premium concept for teamsport specialists in 2022 (bringing the current total in Europe to 23 Absolute Teamsport stores in 6 countries), the pace of expansion is set to continue in the new year: Sport 2000 says it plans to have 35 stores under its umbrella by the end of 2023.
“Last year was enormously important for our further development,“ said Absolute Teamsport managing director and Sport 2000 teamsport division head, Alexander Löbe. “With the numerous new top teamsport partners, we are on a direct path to becoming the largest European teamsport specialist.”
Two new network partners in Germany
In Germany, two more renowned teamsport specialists have recently joined the network: Absolute Teamsport Philipp in Gladbeck and Absolute Teamsport Sportdirekt in Wuppertal. Philipp has been acting as an Absolute Teamsport partner since December with its second store, featuring 500 sqm of sales area. The first store in Münster under the Absolute umbrella was opened in 2019. Sportdirekt is located on 230 sqm in the heart of Wuppertal, in a prime downtown location near the suspension railroad. The store was founded about 30 years ago by Martin Schwarz and Thomas Heymann. With these openings, the number of Absolute Teamsport partners in Germany currently amounts to 12.
Third store in Austria
Absolute Teamsport Soccercity is the third store that opened in Austria. The store is located on 200 sqm in Lanzenkirchen, Wiener Neustadt. The owner is Markus Ernst.
Two more locations in Belgium
Absolute Teamsport Fulltime Sport Gent and Absolute Teamsport Terrific Sport in Charleroi are the third and fourth stores that opened in Belgium in 2022. Already in July of last year, Absolute Teamsport Antwerp and Absolute Teamsport Sportcity started operations within the specialist network. Fulltime Sport Gent is located ten minutes outside the center of Ghent. The store covers an area of 500 sqm, making it the largest stationary seller of soccer boots in the entire Benelux region. The store owners are Luc Ryckaert and Filip Nelis, who, with their team, also manage, among other things, the fan store of the professional football club KAA Gent. Terrific Sport is located on 330 sqm and only five minutes from the center of Charleroi. In 2019, the store, initially opened in 1992 as a generalist, was transformed by owner Antoine Scohy into a teamsport specialist and is the only teamsport-focused store in the entire region.
First Absolute Teamsport store in Switzerland
Absolute Teamsport Albani opened its first store in Lenzburg, Switzerland, in December 2022. The owner of the 200 sqm store is Bruno Albani. The retail company has been around for more than 60 years. For the first half of 2023, Taurus Sports plans to open the second Swiss Absolute Teamsport store in Kloten near Zurich.
