Sneakers, jackets, leggings: sports-inspired clothing has become an integral part of many people’s everyday lives. Now the sports retailer association Intersport is going one step further – and is entering the classic fashion trade.
In addition, the Heilbronn-based company buys half of the shares in the fashion purchasing group Unitex. Intersport Deutschland announced that a corresponding agreement had been signed. The companies did not comment on the purchase price.
Intersport has long been registering a merging of the retail landscape in the shoe, sports and fashion sectors. “If you look outside at how people dress, you realize: What is fashion at the moment is also sport. We are banking on this development,” said the head of Intersport Germany, Alexander von Preen.
Unitex from Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, is one of the largest fashion retail associations in German-speaking countries. It has over 800 members with more than 1,900 locations in Germany and Austria.
Like Intersport, Unitex also takes on a number of tasks for its members. One of the most important: It processes payments between retailers and suppliers. This bundling enables, among other things, better purchasing conditions – and thus lower prices for retailers. The turnover processed via this system was around 392 million euros last year.
Large selection – even from small retailers
The participation further strengthens the position vis-à-vis the industrial partners, said von Preen. “Intersport Deutschland is the only provider that combines all areas – shoes, sports and textiles – under one roof.” Unitex will continue to operate independently in the future. But you see a lot of opportunities and synergies. It is now being examined which services can be made available to the respective members. The Intersport association currently has almost 90 retailers in this country who, in addition to sporting goods, also have fashion in their range.
The step also brings advantages for customers: they can be guaranteed access to a wide range of brands – even from smaller retailers. This strengthens medium-sized businesses and contributes to the attractiveness and variety of offerings in city centers.
Intersport on expansion course
According to its own information, Intersport is Germany’s largest sports retail group. It recently included around 700 retailers nationwide with more than 1,400 stores. More than 400 of them also operate under the name Intersport. The association wants to increase its sales to around six billion euros by 2030 – and thus to an expected market share of a good 30 percent.
According to Intersport CFO Thomas Storck, the investment is a logical step from an economic and strategic point of view: “Unitex has developed very dynamically in recent years, with enormous growth and has shown solid returns.” We want to expand that.
At least 100 new stores by 2030
Intersport is also expanding on its own: at least 100 new stores are expected to be added in Germany by the end of the decade. More than half of the goal has already been achieved. In 2023/24, retailers’ sales fell slightly to 3.48 billion euros, among other things due to the clouded consumer mood. But they said they had gained market share. Von Preen recently expected somewhat better business for the 2024/25 financial year, which ended at the end of September.
The sports retail market in Germany is worth billions – and is highly competitive. The French company Decathlon and the purchasing group Sport 2000, among others, are fighting for market share with Intersport.