Ochsner Sport, one of Switzerland's leading sport goods retailers, has agreed to acquire German sporting goods retailer Sports Sperk, according to a report by the German news service Markt Intern.
Ochsner Sport, which is part of Germany's Deichmann Group, opened its first stores in Germany earlier this year. If cleared by anti-trust regulators, the acquisition would provide the company with 13 Sports Sperk stores in shopping malls across Germany. The deal comes as many Swiss are flocking to German stores to take advantage of the strong franc, which has appreciated about 18 percent against the euro since January.
Ochsner Sport generated sales of CHF 442 million in 2014, up about 7 percent from a year earlier. It is part of Switzerland's Dosenbach-Ochsner AG, which generated total sales of CHF 996 million, an increase of 5.5 percent. Dosenbach-Ochsner AG, meanwhile, is part of Essen, Germany-based Deichmann Group, which reported €4.9 billion sales in 2014, an increased 6.0 percent after adjusting for currency exchange rates.
Sport Sperk, which sells apparel, footwear and equipment for team, snow, outdoor and other sports, generated a gross profit of €13.1 million and net profit of €300,000 in 2014.
