Intersport International’s new chairwoman, Corinne Gensollen, has granted an interview to sport-guide.com, which we reproduce below. She is the first woman to hold the post and has been replaced as general manager of Intersport France by Sylvain Darracq.
How did you react when elected president of Intersport?
Corinne Gensollen: Chairman Jacky Rihouet and I are very proud to see the Intersport France cooperative take the lead internationally. We’re equally delighted that it’s happening in cooperation with Germany. What we’re celebrating today is the excellence of the French cooperative model, especially the way it functions in pairs with staff at the central office and members. I owe my nomination to Jacky Rihouet, who’s placed his trust in me and supported me throughout the past six years of omnichannel transformation and revision of Intersport France’s CSR policy.
What did you bring to the table to persuade your colleagues to entrust you with these duties?
Corinne Gensollen: France has become an indispensable player within Intersport International, given its performance over the past ten years under the presidency of Jacky Rihouet, an exemplary leader. Despite the health crisis, its revenues have grown from €1.2 to €2.8 billion, with a notable acceleration over the past five years. We’re a leader in the football, running, basketball, tennis, e-bike and mountain-sports rental markets. Intersport France’s members now also share a vision and fully back the company’s strategy. Finally, we’ve started duplicating the French model in Belgium and will soon deploy it in Portugal.
By what methodology are you going to handle operations within Intersport International?
Corinne Gensollen: We have a “strong” board, with the CEO of Intersport Germany, the CEOs of Italy and Finland, and the independent member Rick White. We will take the winning ingredients from the French cooperative model and feed them into a new strategic plan to accelerate our omnichannel transformation and our implementation of the CSR policy. I’ll be visiting the various countries where Intersport is present, starting with Europe, to listen to their expectations and get us all aligned with the group’s common ambition.
Will you be recommending that their stores duplicate the formats of France’s stores?
Corinne Gensollen: That model is French. There are other models in Europe that work well. We’ll work closely with each country to settle on best practices. The new strategic plan will not be a mere extension of the French model. What’s certain is that we’ll continue to shore up our position in sporting goods in partnership with the world’s biggest brands. Our objective will be to increase market share in every country under the Intersport banner.
Will Intersport International be expanding into other countries?
Corinne Gensollen: We’ll first be consolidating Intersport’s presence in each of its current countries and achieving leadership under the Intersport banner. In short, we’ll be working with all the national organizations to get the group even more focused on customer expectations, even more vertical, even more efficient. Intersport should remain the sporting-goods distribution brand with the closest relationship to consumers and brands.
