After 14 years in business, Twinner Iberia, the Spanish buying group, has changed its name to Tréndico Group. According to Carlos Tejero, the group's chairman, the new name is intended to serve as a potent umbrella brand for the group's multiple brands and omni-channel business. CMDsport, the Spanish trade paper, has suggested three other reasons for the change of name: the development of three new brands, the increase in the number of POS, and a strategic shift towards vertical integration and digital formats.
The group's total number of stores, all located in Spain and Andorra, now exceeds 450. As a result, Tréndico has overtaken G5 (see Sporting Goods Intelligence Europe Vol. 29 n°37+38) to become Spain's top sports buying group in points of sale.
The group currently has four brands: Foot on Mars, Nº1 en Zapatillas by Foot on Mars, Twinner and Atleet. The first non-Twinner brand, Foot on Mars, was created in 2015, and marked a first shift towards vertical integration. Nº1 en Zapatillas by Foot on Mars followed in 2017 and expanded the group's selection of sneakers. Now, only a few years later, these two brands have amassed more than 70 stores between them.
Twinner continues to be Tréndico's dominant player, with 366 stores in Spain, but the group recently added a second brand to the multi-sports sector, Atleet, which competes at the medium to medium-high end of the athletic and performance segment. There are at present nine Atleet stores in Spain. An additional 14 sites are under study, and the group hopes to have at least 200 stores in operation by 2022.
In the meantime, the group's new identity as Tréndico and Atleet's new vertical integration were presented at the winter convention in Zaragoza on Jan. 17-19, which was open to the group's 200 affiliates and drew some 40 suppliers. The group's communications director, José Antonio Blanco, explained to the trade paper Diffusion Sport that the new name represents what the group aspires to be, as it combines “trend” with “co,” short for “company.” According to Blanco, the affiliates proved receptive to the group's plans and confirmed that fiscal year 2018 had been positive. By Blanco's estimate, Group revenues for the year should be about €41.5 million, for an increase of 12 percent from the €37 million recorded in 2017. Both attendance and purchasing at the convention were also up from 2017.
Another big topic of discussion at the winter convention was Tréndico's new, third site. The group's headquarters are still in Ejea de los Caballeros, in the province of Zaragoza. This is where Tréndico handles its administration, finances and logistics. A second site in Ciudad Real, in the province of La Mancha, south of Madrid, is home to the group's creative and branding teams. Ciudad Real is also the location of the group's flagship stores.
In keeping with its new digital direction, however, Tréndico has now established a technology hub at the World Trade Center in the actual city of Zaragoza. The province of Zaragoza is already located between Spain's two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, but this more urban location has the benefit of bringing the group even closer to its strategic partners. This new site will focus on implementing the digitalization strategy and managing online sales. The group's two older sites will continue to play their current roles.
In addition to pursuing its digitalization strategy, Tréndico is planning over the short term to expand abroad, and has already undertaken studies for the purpose.
