We have already reported on the progress of Fairplay in Holland. In spite of a depressed market sporting goods market, which dropped by an estimated 4 percent last year, Intersport Nederland saw its sales decline by only 1.3 percent in 2005, while Euretco Sport, which federates Sport 2000 stores in the Netherlands, caught up with a growth of more than 2 percent.
Both retail organizations are reporting better results for the beginning of 2006, due in part to their own efforts and to an apparently improving market situation, which was confirmed by industry estimates for the month of April. The monthly tally was up by 9.8 percent for the month compared with the same period last year, adding up to a sales rise of 6.4 percent since the beginning of 2006. The market for sports footwear rose by only 6.1 percent in April. Faster growth rates were recorded in apparel, with 12.3 percent, and in hardware with 7.9 percent.
Last year’s sales drop at Intersport Nederland, whose revenues declined to €158 million, combines a fall of 1 percent at its 117 Intersport outlets with a larger slide of 3 percent at Coach, a fashion-oriented chain with 46 outlets that had been growing rapidly over the previous years.
Although they ended the year with a small dip, Intersport’s Dutch stores recovered strongly in the last quarter, partly owing to the growth of two private labels, Northbrook and Pro Touch. Sales at Coach were more affected by consumer trends in the Netherlands, which shifted away from upper-end sneakers and moved closer to the medium-price range, as white trainers became more fashionable.
Both Intersport and Coach are reporting double-digit sales increases for the first few months of 2006. The growth at Intersport Nederland was fueled by more abundant sales of football gear as well as running and fitness products, particularly on the women’s side, although sales of World Cup related products have been below expectations so far. Coach has now adjusted to the white trainer trend. The chain has also embarked on a program to speed up store conversions, which is helping to lift results. Improvements at Intersport stores have enabled them to lift their gross margins by about 1 percent this year.
Meanwhile, sharp improvements in the store concepts of Sport 2000 and Runnersworld helped to raise Euretco Sport’s central settlements last year by 6.2 percent to €93.9 million. The changes pushed net sales in Sport 2000 stores up to €121 million excluding VAT, amounting to a market share of more than 12 percent.
As part of the changes undertaken within the group, 35 Helderman stores were converted to fully franchised Sport 2000 outlets after Euretco acquired a majority share in Trends, the licensor of Helderman Sport. Euretco Sport closed 4 of these Helderman stores but opened another 8 Sport 2000 stores, bringing the tally up to 118 units at the end of last year.
For its part Runnersworld, which specializes in running gear, has enlarged its offering beyond this segment to include a wider range of walking shoes. The trick appears to be paying off as Nordic walking is beginning to catch on in the Netherlands while running continues to spread.
Runnersworld’s retail sales rose by 11.6 percent to roughly €11 million last year, and they have jumped by another 20 percent since the beginning of this year. The network comprises 19 stores in the Netherlands and another two in Spain, but expansion into that country has been much slower than planned. Euretco Sport is holding talks with prospective franchise partners in several other European countries.
Jürgen Strik left as general manager of Runnersworld in January. He was replaced by Rutger de Kort, who moved sideways in the Euretco group. The new management team further comprises Cor van der Tas, former sales manager at Saucony, who was appointed at Runnersworld as head of buying and merchandising, and Karen van Rijswijk, in charge of marketing.
