IIC-Intersport International Corporation has signed a license agreement for the territory of Ukraine with Epicentr K. This agreement exclusively allows Epicentr K to open Intersport stores in Ukraine, sell Intersport’s private label products and have access to all other IIC products and services.
With retail sales of close to 2 billion Euros, 30,000 employees and 65 large-scale hypermarkets and DIY markets, Epicentr K is the clear market leader in this retail area in Ukraine. The biggest hypermarket “K7” in Kiev, with an area of 105,000 square meters, is registered as the world's largest in the Guinness Book of Records.
Epicentr K was one of the top 10 Ukrainian importers in 2014 and a leading retail company in the country. With its expansion plan, Epicentr K will be operating 40 to 50 Intersport stores by 2018.
“We are proud bringing the well-known brand Intersport to Ukraine,” said Alexander Gerega, owner of Epicentr K. “Fitness, sporting activities and a healthy lifestyle are on the rise in Ukraine. For this reason, Epicentr K took the strategic decision to expand our existing successful retail activities into the sporting goods market. With Intersport, a successfully proven retailing concept, years of experience as well as advantageous purchasing conditions, we have found the right partner to open multi-brand/multi-sport stores in Ukraine.”
Franz Julen, CEO of IIC-Intersport International Corp. said Epicentr K is a successful and competent local retail partner who has access to ideal locations.
“With the expansion to Ukraine, we are covering one of the last white spots on the European map,” said Julen. “We are looking forward to enhance the sports market in Ukraine together with our new partner Epicentr K.”
Business development 2015
Intersport, the world's largest sporting goods retailer, has had a successful current year. In the first half of 2015, Intersport surpassed the 5 billion Euro mark for the first time, which means a sales increase of 6.7 percent, compared to the same period in 2014. The sports/lifestyle shoe franchise chain, The Athlete's Foot, grew by 9 percent (in local currencies by 22 percent) in the first half 2015. “Our business model with more than 5’000 entrepreneurs guarantees the proximity to our customers, the megatrend health, fitness, wellbeing as well as the good winter in January/February,” Franz Julen mentions the reasons for the positive sales development. He considers it quite realistic that “Intersport will surpass the turnover mark of EUR 11 billion in 2015 for the first time, and that The Athlete's Foot will exceed Euro 300 million.”
In addition to Ukraine, Intersport will also open first stores in Algeria, Indonesia and the Philippines in the next 12 months. Also The Athlete's Foot is continuing its expansion with store openings in Russia in December 2015 and in Bolivia, France, Ireland and Italy in the first half of 2016.
