Sport 2000 International, the world’s second-largest trade organization for independent sports retailers with 3,586 stores in 25 countries, recently reported it is reflecting on a successful year, closing the 2022 financial year with gross retail sales of €6.5 billion.
Sport 2000 International, aiming to become an agile, forward-looking premium retail service organization, reported it had initiated a transformation process to grow closer together as an international sports retail group.
The €6.5 billion retail gross sales figure across all categories and segments last year represents an increase of 15.5 percent compared to 2021 and an increase of 36.5 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The association noted that in 2022, more than “200 million consumers worldwide were advised, equipped and inspired for sports in the Sport 2000 stores, as recorded by the business analytics of Sport 2000 International. Overall, the sports retail group encompassed 2,300 retailers with around 3,600 stores in 25 countries at the end of 2022 before counting the country-specific online shops that provided additional shopping experiences.
“Consumers are more discerning than ever and are examining their purchase decisions more critically than before,” the trade association said in a release. “Sustainability, as well as social and ethical responsibility, are decisive purchase criteria. What’s more, there are technical innovations such as artificial intelligence and mega-trends that continuously result in new products on the market, thereby shaping the competitive environment.”
“The world around us is developing rapidly. As an international brand in brick-and-mortar sports retail, our task is to come up with new concepts and strategies to remain competitive in the future,” shared Margit Gosau, CEO of Sport 2000 International and Sport 2000 GmbH, emphasizing the importance of transformation processes. “Above all, transformation also means parting ways with old patterns, being bold, and leaving the comfort zone.
“By stepping out of the comfort zone, we can exploit our full potential and adopt a strong position in all countries as One Sport 2000,” Gosau is convinced. “Our mission is to grow more closely together as an international sports retail group and become an agile, future-oriented premium retail service organization.”
Strategy and transformation expert Philipp Hahn, who held a keynote presentation at the international sales conference of Sport 2000 in Mainhausen, Germany, also shared this view.
“Change enables companies to redefine their positioning. A transformation process is successful when the changes are seen as an opportunity and are actively supported by all stakeholders,” explained Hahn. “Sport 2000 International took decisive steps in 2022 to sharpen its positioning with the introduction of the ‘Home of Experts’ global brand claim, the associated launch of the ‘Welcome Home’ international brand campaign as well as the launch of the new Witeblaze brand.”
For Gosau, the long-term strategy focuses on the even greater networking of Sport 2000 at the international level. The sports retail group is driving the exchange of know-how and cross-border collaboration with its “Centre of Excellence” approach.
“Each one of our countries has the greatest expertise in a wide range of areas. We share this know-how within our international group,” Gosau noted. After all: “The entire sports retail group benefits from international exchange and shared projects.”
Pursuing strategic approaches together is key for the sports retail group. Due to the different strategic plans for the future, Sport 2000 International and SGN Sports will go separate ways at the end of 2023. As a result of the decision, Sport 2000 is no longer represented in Sweden and Finland.
“Our goal is not to saturate the map with national representations but to focus on high-quality and strategically coordinated cooperation partners that provide the best fit with Sport 2000’s mission,” said Gosau.
During this year’s General Assembly, Dominik Solleder, managing director of Sport 2000 GmbH, was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board of Sport 2000 International. Dr. Holger Schwarting, a member of the Management Board of Sport 2000 Austria, was again confirmed as chair of the Supervisory Board of Sport 2000 International. The Supervisory Board is composed of Chair Dr. Holger Schwarting, Austria; Deputy Chair Matthias Grevener, Germany; Marius Rovers, the Netherlands; Jean-Louis Parent, France; Roland Felder, Switzerland; and Dominik Solleder, Germany.
Photos courtesy Sports 2000
