Sport Voswinkel, a chain of 74 stores throughout Germany that has been a member of Intersport Germany since 1989 and a subsidiary of the voluntary group since 2003, is up for sale.
It filed an application for voluntary insolvency proceedings under its own administration on April 24, and it is currently searching for a new owner. Potential buyers are invited to place their offers until July 17.
In the framework of its insolvency proceedings, Voswinkel opted for an M&A process, opening the possibility for mergers and acquisitions and thus offering potential buyers the chance to acquire the whole company or parts of it. Potential buyers could be financial investors, retail members of Intersport or other retail companies.
Decathlon, which is growing fast in Germany through the opening of many new stores, denies speculation in the German press that it may be interested in the takeover.
Members of Intersport were informed about the possibility to place an offer for one or several stores of Sport Voswinkel on June 5. Sport Voswinkel is working with a company in Berlin, called Restrukturierungspartner, to manage the M&A process. It has already contacted potential buyers.
In the 2016/17 financial year, Sport Voswinkel reached total sales of €146 million, leading to a net loss of €4.6 million. During the financial year ended on last Sept. 30, its sales declined to €139 million, a drop of about 5 percent as compared to the previous year. The reasons given for the company's difficulties are declining customer traffic, combined with increased competitive pressures from online retailers and discounters.
The retailer is one of the largest sporting goods chains in Germany, currently employing around 1,200 people at its headquarters in Dortmund and in its 74 stores.
