Handball, ice hockey, football, the Olympics: Intersport is hoping for a boom from this year’s major sporting events.
“It’s great that you have four such big events in one year,” said the head of the dealer association, Alexander von Preen, to the German Press Agency in Heilbronn. Such major events would reach broad sections of the population. “And that makes us positive that the awareness of sport and playing sports will continue to increase after the pandemic – and then so will the sale of sporting goods.”
The sporting year 2024 will be eventful: the European Men’s Handball Championship will be held here in January. The German ice hockey team will play for the world championship title in Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic) in May. The men’s European Football Championship, also in Germany, and the Olympic Games in Paris will follow in the summer.
The extent also depends on the performance of the DFB team
Intersport boss von Preen is calm about the performance of the struggling DFB team in front of home fans: “As we all know, hope dies last,” he said. “If they get to the final or even become European champions, then that will automatically be an economic hype for us. If not, then everything stays as it is.” The topic of merchandising – for example the sale of fan articles and jerseys – has been losing importance over the past ten years because manufacturers are increasingly marketing the products directly.
The national team of national coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in a deep sporting crisis for years. In the last two World Championships with Nagelsmann’s predecessors Joachim Löw and Hansi Flick, it ended after the preliminary round. At the 2021 European Championship, the DFB selection with Löw only barely reached the round of 16.
Sales targets not at risk due to SportScheck insolvency
The Intersport boss also expected that, for example, the ongoing outdoor trend and the high demand for items for team and running sports would support business. He also confirmed the long-term sales goals – despite the insolvency of Germany’s largest cooperative member, SportScheck. “We currently do not see the growth forecast at risk,” said von Preen.
By 2030, Intersport wants to increase its sales in Germany to around six billion euros – and thus to a market share of a good 30 percent. The association is therefore aiming for annual growth of more than five percent by 2026. Intersport includes around 800 dealers across Germany with a total of more than 1,400 stores. Over 400 of them operate under the name Intersport.
Intersport’s financial year does not correspond to the calendar year, but runs from the beginning of October to the end of September. In 2021/22, the dealer association had sales of around 3.3 billion euros. Von Preen recently expected an increase in sales of more than five percent for the past financial year. The German headquarters of Intersport wants to comment on the exact figures at the end of January. (dpa)