The 1,200-square-meter store in Athens, Greece, includes an in-game presence partnership with EA Sports FC 25, a Puma Footlab initiative to engage Gen Z and an indoor football court to test gear.
Intersport, one of the world’s biggest sports retailers, has launched a new retail concept – the Intersport football specialist store. Starting with a 1,200-square-meter space filled with all the equipment players and fans need, a new store in Athens, Greece, will be the first of 10 to 20 to open in Europe by 2026.
This flagship store, which opened on March 27, is designed as an immersive experience and community hub for local football fans and features an indoor football field, an interactive video football wall and a dedicated gaming area. This is in addition to a specialized selection of football equipment from a range of top global brands.
Intersport Football stores are part of Intersport’s category specialist store format, one of the five in the company’s multi-format approach, which includes the existing specialty formats Intersport Running and Intersport Rent (for winter sports).
Last year, Intersport also inaugurated a major partnership with Electronic Arts and became a brand partner inside the world’s most popular football video game, EA Sports 25.
Footlab by Intersport, meanwhile, is a pop-up where grassroots players can try out new products. Recent events have involved AC Milan and Puma, and one of them was the Intersport Footlab Final, a rooftop five-a-side match in Berlin to coincide with the 2024 European Championship.
The move into football-focused retail spaces is part of Intersport’s efforts to engage with a range of consumers, including Gen Z, in an omnichannel way – in line with the company’s “Grow together faster” strategy.
