Sport 2000 GmbH with stable development in 2023

The consolidated gross external sales of the Sport 2000 5-country network amounted to €2.95 billion in Germany in 2023. The purchasing network comprising Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg amounted to €4.03 billion. Due to restrained order behavior and the insolvency of some sports retailers, the purchasing volume fell by around 9 percent compared to the record year of 2022, when it had grown by 22 percent.

“Major structural changes in the sports retail landscape characterized 2023. In particular, the turbulence surrounding the Signa Group and the insolvency of major partners such as Keller Sports left their mark,” commented Margit Gosau, Managing Director of Sport 2000 GmbH, describing the challenging environment. “In addition, although there is a good outflow of stock, the high inventory levels at the affiliated retailers are resulting in lower purchasing volumes. At the same time, our strategic orientation as a Home of Experts has ensured stable development for our existing specialist retailers in this difficult environment.” According to Dominik Solleder, Managing Director of Sport 2000 GmbH, the strategy of positioning and specializing as a Home of Experts has met with great interest in the industry. As a result, several new partners have been acquired “With Sport Bittl, Sport Conrad and SportFits, very renowned sports retail companies have joined Sport 2000,” he said.

Biggest plus for team sports in 2023

Irrespective of the overall volume in 2023, the existing Sport 2000 retailers showed a stable development of +2.7 percent in sales year-on-year. One of the 2023 financial year winners was the team sports category (+11%). The sports style segment also performed well (+10%), followed by racket sports (+8%) and the two strategically important outdoor and running categories (+7% each). Only the bike segment (-11%) slipped into the red.

International strategy project for 2024

The comprehensive and internationally oriented SPEED strategy project is intended to ensure a long-term boost in growth for Sport 2000 GmbH. The retail group is thus further developing its specialist retail concepts, sharpening its services for retailers, expanding digitalization, professionalizing data management, harmonizing the Sport 2000 brand presence across national borders and optimizing international cooperation for faster implementation of strategic decisions.

The Absolute stores in the running and team sports segments are to be further promoted and internationalized. The aim is for retailers to position themselves clearly in the market - as a specialist, multi-category retailer (MCR) or focused generalist. Absolute Teamsport already has 37 locations and aims to increase this number to over 50 this year. The first two Absolute Run stores were also opened in Belgium in 2023. This brings the number of stores in Germany and abroad to eleven. At least five new locations will be added in the coming weeks and months.

The already established Sport 2000 concepts, Running Experts and Teamsport Experts, are also continuing to develop well. In addition, the Outdoor Experts and Ski Experts concepts were launched in 2023.

“Sport 2000 has an excellent format for multi-category stores that are already internationally successful. The first German MCR flagship store will open soon for this reason,” announces Gosau. According to her, MCR retailers stand not only for clear positioning and an upscale product variety but also for consulting expertise and community.

Digital touchpoints accompany the implementation of the stationary retail formats, be it via the online platform sport2000.de or social media accounts.

Sustainability supports sports retail

As Gosau believes that sustainability should not just be a phrase but must play an essential role, GREEN VISION has now become a central strategy for all activities at Sport 2000 GmbH. In this context, there is also close cooperation with the experts from the Hohenstein Institute. Internally, a 14-strong team at Sport 2000 is working on new solutions to protect the environment and the climate. They create their own ideas and implementable measures to ensure that the issue of sustainability is taken into account. Specially trained consultants support sports retailers in reducing the climate-damaging greenhouse gas CO2, enabling Sport 2000 partners to save on energy costs and taxes in a future EU taxonomy. This offer of advice on CO2 reduction is currently in very high demand from dealers.

Witeblaze already established 

In the 2023 summer season, Witeblaze replaced all previous private labels from Sport 2000. “Despite the challenging environment, Witeblaze has already proven to be successful after a short time on the market,” reported Gosau. Retailers in the group benefit from Witeblaze by achieving better margins on sales and, at the same time, being able to offer their customers an exclusive brand. With the start of sales in the 2024 winter season, the Sport 2000 headquarters will have the first Witeblaze showroom on 160 sqm. Thanks to the strengthening of the sales team and the close involvement of specialist retailers in product development, the course has been set for the brand’s further growth this year.

Internationalization continues

At the heart of the Sport 2000 strategy is a stringent focus on the pillars of specialization, positioning and digitalization. Internationalization is also continuing. In January 2024, the existing 5-country alliance was joined by the Austrian Zentrasport. The Austrian cooperative announced a restructuring process last summer after full warehouses, as well as the payment default of one major retailer, significantly strained the liquidity of the cooperative. In November, Zentrasport announced that the restructuring proceedings with self-administration were successfully closed and that the creditors approved the restructuring plan. At an extraordinary general meeting this January, Zentrasport Österreich, part of the international retail network Sport 2000, decided to become part of ANWR Group eG and the Sport 2000 country network led by Sport 2000 Germany.

 编辑：Ariel