Team Sportia is growing strongly in Finland. In April alone, the Swedish voluntary chain opened six new stores in Finland, taking the total store count in the country up to ten. The new doors are primarily shops that previously traded under the Sportia and Elmo Sport banners and chose to be associated with the Team Sportia concept, which focuses on categories such as ice hockey, running, cross-country skiing, team sports and bicycles.
Sportia and Elmo Sport are the two Finnish chains owned by the SGN Group, which became the controlling shareholder of Team Sportia in 2014. Late last year, the SGN Group acquired a 50 percent stake in another Swedish chain, Sportringen, which recently opened its first store in Denmark, focusing on hockey (see our previous issue).
The SGN Group's management has announced its wish to increase the number of Team Sportia stores in Finland by another 20 locations. They believe that the franchise-driven Team Sportia format is well suited for the Finnish market. The local sports retailers are familiar with their market and can thereby adapt the product range to meet the demand in their own locality.
