The Sport 2000 purchasing group is ending 2023 with stable results. Despite major turbulence in the retail landscape – above all the developments surrounding the Signa Group and the bankruptcies of large sports retailers – the group’s consolidated gross external sales in Germany amounted to 2.95 billion euros. In the five-country group including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, it was 4.03 billion euros. This means that the purchasing volume fell by nine percent compared to 2022. 2022 was a record year with growth of 22 percent.
Nevertheless, this challenging environment “would have left its mark,” explains Margit Gosau, managing director of Sport 2000 GmbH. The “well-flowing but still high inventories at the affiliated retailers resulted in lower purchasing volume,” Gosau continued. At the same time, the strategic orientation as a home of experts ensured stable development among existing specialist retailers in this difficult environment. This also contributed to the association being able to attract many new partners. “With Sport Bittl, Sport Conrad and SportFits, very well-known sports retail companies have joined Sport 2000,” explains Dominik Solleder, Managing Director of Sport 2000 GmbH.
Team sports in 2023 with the biggest plus
Regardless of the total volume in 2023, the existing Sport 2000 specialist retailers have shown a stable development of plus 2.7 percent compared to the previous year in sales. The winners of the 2023 financial year include the team sports category with an increase of eleven percent. “The reason for this is that sports clubs continue to grow strongly after the loss of members during the Corona period. “Children in particular want to experience team sports together,” analyzes Dominik Solleder. The sports style areas also recorded good developments with an increase of ten percent, followed by racket sports (plus eight percent) and the two strategically important categories outdoor and running (plus seven percent each). The bike sector fell by eleven percent. Shoes and textiles increased across all product ranges.
Speed strategy concept is intended to bring growth
The internationally oriented “Speed” strategy project is now intended to ensure a long-term growth spurt. The group is thus further developing its specialist retail concepts, sharpening the services for retailers, expanding digitalization, professionalizing data management, harmonizing the Sport 2000 brand presence across national borders and optimizing international cooperation to speed up the implementation of strategic decisions.
The Absolute stores in the areas of running and team sports 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 wants to increase this number to over 50 this year. The first two Absolute Run stores were also opened in Belgium in 2023. This brings their number at home and abroad to eleven. At least five new locations are expected to 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. The first German MCR flagship store will soon be opening. The implementation of the stationary retail formats is supported via digital touchpoints – be it via the online platform sport2000.de or via the social media accounts.
Own brand Witeblaze on the market since 2023
Since the 2023 summer season, the own brand Witeblaze has replaced all previous Sport 2000 brands. Margit Gosau: “Despite the challenging environment, Witeblaze has already proven to be successful after a short time on the market.” The retailers in the group also benefit from Witeblaze by achieving better margins on sales and being able to offer their customers an exclusive brand . Thanks to the reinforcement 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, Gosau continued. The topic of sustainability also plays an important role in the collection. The association has also set up a 14-person team that develops new, more sustainable solutions in all areas and is also available to retailers as an advisory team.