Sprinter targets Spain’s retail vacuum with 20 new stores

Sprinter plans to open about 20 stores in 2026, according to Europa Press. Modaes adds that the JD-owned retailer will be investing about €20 million to add 70 stores to its count by 2028. The chain operates something like 220 physical stores in Spain at present, and the objective is to approach 300. Modaes reported in September 2025 that one of every 20 stores opened would be in Portugal, where Sprinter operates under the Sport Zone banner.

The starting point is the simultaneous opening of two stores, in Illescas and Vall d’Uixó – respectively the third and fourth stores in Toledo and Castellón provinces. Both will feature running, fitness and football and stock merchandise from the major international brands.

Their openings, says Director of Sales and Operations César Cuadrillero, will “mark the beginning of a very significant year for growth” – which will see about 20 new stores peppered throughout Spain. Three – in Línea de la Concepción, Badalona and Getafe – are already prepared and another ten in the works, Cuadrillero tells Modaes. In addition, Sprinter will be adapting about ten stores – in Girona, San Juan, Alicante and Rotondas – to its new “model and concept” – functional and focused.

Most of these new stores will have sales floors of 500 to 1,000 square meters, rather than the nearly 3,000 of the flagship in Alcorcón. This middle size is a reaction from Sprinter to the recent shift in Spain’s market for sporting goods.

The Spanish landscape

The biggest change, as we’ve been reporting, is the near evaporation of Intersport from the country. Intersport Spain (comprising Intersport CCS, Intersport Retail One and Intersport SL) entered into liquidation on July 30, 2025 – creditors having rejected its proposals for restructuring.

Intersport’s retail network consisted of about 120 stores. Of this total 30 were owned by the company itself and split between mainland Spain (14) and the Canary Islands (16). The remaining 90 or so were franchises.

In November 2025 Intersport France purchased Intersport’s Spanish business (for €300,000) and restructured it into a group covering France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, but stores in Spain have continued to close.

On Dec. 31, 2025, Decathlon notified Spain’s national authority on markets and competition (CNMC) of its intent to acquire assets from Intersport CCS. Most of this concerns the Canary Islands, with only one store on the mainland (Puigcerdà, Girona). In all it would cover something like 18 stores – at best a fifth of the full 120-store network.

The CNMC has yet to approve the deal, and it would in any case have little relevance for the retail market of mainland Spain. Decathlon already operates about 170 stores in Spain, but it is almost in a different business.

For one thing, most of its revenue stems from the sales of its own-brands – Quechua (outdoor/mountain), Van Rysel (cycling), Kiprun (running), Domyos (fitness), Kipsta (team sports), etc. For another, as this list suggests, it is a true generalist.

From DTC back to wholesale

Sprinter is focused both on few sports, like running, fitness and football, and on name brands, like Nike, Adidas and Puma. As it happens, all three of these players were among Intersport Spain’s creditors, and the first two were for a while striving to shift their business away from wholesale and toward direct-to-consumer. That change no doubt helped to drive Intersport Spain out of business. But Nike and Adidas alike have since reversed course, and are therefore now helping to clear the way for Sprinter’s present expansion.

Sprinter’s genuine competition

The one national multibrand competitor to Sprinter of any scale left in Spain is Forum Sport, a 49-store chain rooted in the Basque Country, with annual revenues of €124 million. It deals mostly in running and outdoor and maintains contracts with international brands, but it is regional – established in the north, thin elsewhere. And where is Sprinter expanding?

Director of Sales and Operations Cuadrillero tells Modaes that Sprinter has so far focused on two regions, Catalonia (28 stores) and Madrid, but now seeks to expand in two places – the Basque Country (where it has four stores) and northern Spain.

Otherwise there is Décimas, which belongs to the Sport Street group, operates more than 300 stores in Spain and distributes the same big international brands. But Décimas tends to operate smaller stores and orients its selection towards fashion. It is nevertheless a force to be reckoned with in Spain’s shopping centers.

Water to the desert

Many of Intersport’s franchises were doing business in towns of medium size, in Galicia, Asturias and other regions, where they were the only local player. Intersport’s evaporation has resulted in some arid territory for sporting goods, obliging locals there to buy online. Now consider Cuadrillero’s comments from an interview with Consumidor Global: “[…] we have a significant presence across the whole territory [Spain and Portugal]. We are going to open stores in Catalonia, Castellón, Málaga, Murcia… We will continue the strategy of bringing sport closer to more and more communities, including slightly smaller ones, of 30,000-40,000 inhabitants, which are working very well for us.”

He would go on to distinguish Sprinter from Decathlon, saying: “[…] we don’t make a direct comparison with Decathlon, because there is a different focus. Decathlon tends to go for standalone boxes – that is, very large establishments outside commercial zones. Our business model is quite flexible and adapts very well to the needs of the consumer. We manage stores of 3,000 square meters, but also of 500, and they work very well. This allows us to open more stores than Decathlon. The consumer profile is different.”