Snipes, the German chain of sneaker shops, has taken over...

Snipes, the German chain of sneaker shops, has taken over SportsLab, a similar chain of ten stores in Switzerland that will change their names to Snipes next summer. The acquisition was made easier by the fact that Deichmann acquired a stake in Snipes in 2011. Deichmann, the largest shoe retailer in Europe, has a strong position in the Swiss footwear and sporting goods markets through Dosenbach-Ochsner. In the past year, Snipes opened 19 new stores, forming a network of around 60 stores in Germany and Austria. Some 30 new stores are said to be planned for 2014.  Textilwirtschaft reports a rumor that Snipes has also acquired Solebax, a well-known sneaker store in Berlin.