The fast-growing Norwegian operator of sports superstores, which is among others one of the only two major off-course suppliers of golf products in its domestic market, is making its long-awaited move into Sweden in the spring of 2010.
According to Sportfack! magazine, the first Swedish XXL Sport is set to open its doors in the expanding Bromma Center near Stockholm, on the premises of the former airport. Another mega-store in the Stockholm area and one in Götheborg are planned in the longer term. It will be a major new competitor for Stadium, which is already present in Denmark and Finland, but not yet in Norway.
The company, whose full name is XXL Sport og Villmark, started up in 2000 with a big bang, offering everyday low prices on a vast range of products in 3,700 square meters of retail space in one of the most central locations of Oslo, next to the city’s cathedral. It quickly gained a dominant position in Oslo’s metropolitan area by adding other mega-stores in the region.
Thanks in part to new openings, XXL’s sales grew by 29.8 percent last year to 1,181 million NOK (€144m-$207m) after VAT, giving the chain a national market share of 9 percent. In Norway, it added three stores in 2008 as well as in 2009.
