Sport 2000 International is covering all the Nordic countries now that Team Sportia of Sweden and SGN Sportia of Finland have both decided to join the international buying group. SGN Sportia had acquired a controlling stake in the Swedish buying group at the end of last year.
Both Sportia and Team Sportia pulled out of Sport 2000 International several years ago for various reasons. The increasing competition in the Nordic sporting goods market, notably through the strong development of Stadium and XXL in the region, and the strategic re-orientation of Sport 2000 International probably helped to bring them back into the fold.
Among other things, Sport 2000 International is working on regional market segmentation under the management of Harold Rubrech, who took over as managing director last May.
Meetings are planned among all the Nordic retail organizations affiliated with Sport 2000 International, including Sport-Master in Denmark and MX Sport in Norway, to help define common purchasing programs, particularly for brands that are strong in the region.Together, the four Nordic buying groups affiliated with Sport 2000 represent annual retail sales of more than €520 million before VAT.
Team Sportia, which has come out of a major reorganization and a change of management, indicated that one of the reasons for re-joining Sport 2000 International was its positioning as a network specializing in important categories such as running and cycling.
Sport 2000 owns Bico, a big German cooperative of independent bike dealers. Through its purchase of Sportex several years ago, Team Sportia became a major player in the Swedish bike market. It has become the largest buying group for bike dealers in Sweden, and reportedly, it further raised its purchasing power on Sept. 1 with its acquisition of Tvåhjulsmästarna, a cooperative of 45 bike dealers in the country.
SGN Sportia and Team Sportia will adopt a co-branding concept under which their stores will feature their national logo along with the script “Official Partner of Sport 2000.” The two retailers have 105 stores in Sweden and 56 in Finland. They have a combined annual retail turnover of about €280 million.
Sport 2000 International is looking at entering or re-entering other European countries in the near future. Unlike Intersport International Corporation, it has no plans for the rest of the world.
