Sport 2000 International reported sales of €5.3 billion ($6.1 bn) in 2025, up 8.2 percent year-over-year. The European buying group, based in Mainhausen, Germany, said the growth “benefited from the implementation of its international ‘Home of Experts’ positioning and strength in outdoor and running categories.”

“Our growth above market levels confirms the strength of our ‘Home of Experts’ strategy,” stated Margit Gosau, CEO of Sport 2000. “With this strategy, Sport 2000 Group International deliberately focuses on specialization, expertise and a clear market profile. The Sport 2000 Multi-Category Retailer (MCR) format, as well as the specialized retail formats Absolute Run and Absolute Teamsport, form the central pillars of this strategy.

“Specialization creates a distinct profile, strengthens market expertise and enables our national organizations and their retailers to clearly differentiate themselves. The combination of expertise, personal consultation and community proximity is what makes focused and specialized sporting goods retailers so strong, ” emphasized Gosau. She continued, “More than a third of our stores are already specialist shops, and many multi-category retailers are opting for specialization. This is a clear indication of our network’s development towards specialization and differentiation.”

Internationally, the retail service organization currently connects around 2,000 retailers with almost 3,000 stores across 17 countries into a single network.

Outdoor and Running Drive Growth
In 2025, outdoor became the strongest growth driver within the group, accounting for 26 percent of total category sales. While the wider outdoor market remains largely stable, the segment is expanding at an above-average rate, particularly in Germany. Sport 2000 said the addition of “major, high-profile outdoor retailers” is reinforcing this momentum.

Running is seeing “dynamic growth in almost all markets,” reaching an 11 percent share of total volume. Sport 2000 said in its statement, “Running was the clear growth leader over the past two years. The market is booming due to the development of new, younger target groups and benefits particularly from the clear positioning of Running Experts retailers and the specialized Absolute Run format.”

Sportstyle contributed 15 percent to total sales, “returning to a balanced level within the category mix after the particularly strong previous year with 23 percent,” according to the Group. Team sports accounted for 13 percent of sales and remained stable in 2025 despite the absence of global football events.

Winter sports are also “developing very positively,” accounting for 11 percent of total revenue, boosted by a “successful winter season with high booking numbers and good snow conditions in Europe. Alpine skiing is particularly dynamic, with mid- to high double-digit growth rates.”

Fitness and training remain “consistently slightly above” last year’s level, growing to 10 percent of total revenue, while biking holds 5 percent. Other categories, including racket sports, fun sports, and other sports, accounted for 8 percent of the total volume. Swimming accounts for 1 percent. Gosau stated, “The development in categories like outdoor and running clearly shows where the sports market is headed. This is precisely where our strategic focus and the strength of our network come into play.”

Expansion
Sport 2000, earlier this year, announced plans to enter the Polish market with Savio Group signed on as its licensing partner as part of broader plans to further expand beyond its core German region. Sports 2000 said it continues to work on developing further markets, including others in the EMEA region, as well as select countries in South America. Gosau said, “We are rooted in Europe, but we think globally about our expansion. Our aim is to develop new markets together with strong regional partners and to further expand Sport 2000 Group International as the leading retail service organization in the specialized sporting goods trade worldwide.”

A new licensing structure is accelerating expansion. Retail formats are no longer tied to a single licensing framework per country. Instead, different licensees within a market can implement the retail format that best matches their expertise and respective potential.

“International expansion is not a one-size-fits-all exercise. Our modular format strategy makes it possible, depending on the market and partner, to prioritize multi-category or clear specialization,” concludes Gosau. “This structure facilitates the international roll-out and lays the groundwork for establishing various retail formats more quickly in new markets.”

Image courtesy Sport 2000