Media Room

06/2025

Clear formats, strong community, top brands: SPORT 2000 accelerates transformation in sports retail

SPORT 2000 Group International is further strengthening its strategic direction and accelerating its transformation into the leading retail service organisation in the specialist sports performance retail sector. With a clear brand strategy, the international roll-out and expansion of its retail formats and an increased focus on Group-wide services and data expertise, the Group is continuing to position itself for the future. The aim is to sustainably strengthen the ability of its sports retail companies to compete.

At this year's Annual General Assembly in Mainhausen in May, SPORT 2000 Group International took stock of the past financial year. Adjusted, the retail service organisation generated gross retail sales of 4.9 billion euros in a stable like-for-like comparison. This corresponds to a decline in sales of 2.2 per cent. "If you compare gross retail sales in absolute figures, the decline appears higher. This is primarily due to the exclusion of countries in the extrapolation that are no longer part of SPORT 2000 Group International and the departure of retail companies in existing markets. We deliberately withdrew from a few markets in which we no longer saw any long-term strategic development potential. At the same time, economic factors such as insolvencies, business closures or a lack of succession solutions led to a moderate streamlining of our global retailer portfolio," says Margit Gosau, CEO of SPORT 2000 Group International, adding: "This streamlining of market representations was necessary in order to strategically strengthen our organisation and make it resilient in the long term." She recognises the relatively stable sales development as a clear sign of the economic substance of SPORT 2000 Group International. The figures also underline how essential adaptability, customer proximity and specialisation are for success in sports retail. "The industry is in a phase of re-orientation," says Gosau, adding: "Brick-and-mortar retail is experiencing a renaissance, but at the same time online retail is also gaining momentum again." SPORT 2000's strength lies in its resilient network of small and medium-sized retailers as well as large, specialised retailers. "Their flexibility gives them a decisive competitive advantage and clearly shows that those who focus on specialisation, consulting expertise and customer proximity increase their chances of success in the long term," emphasises Gosau. At the centre of the agenda is an even stronger international cooperation. SPORT 2000 Group International is pushing for deeper networking, the harmonisation and exchange of data and the optimisation of operational standards. A central focus is also on the stringent implementation of the Group-wide brand, banner and format strategy. The first visible measures have already been implemented: The international "WE KNOW SPORT" campaign and a comprehensive logo and CI relaunch, which is being implemented stringently by the country organisations, underline the commitment to uniform, modern brand management.

Clearly positioned speciality retail formats for the sports retail of the future
SPORT 2000 Group International is consistently sharpening its profile in international sports retail. The focus is on a differentiated format strategy that combines multi-category competence with specialised retail expertise. While SPORT 2000 as an umbrella brand stands for cross-category product ranges with a high level of advisory expertise, specialist formats such as ABSOLUTE RUN, ABSOLUTE TEAMSPORT and the Running, Outdoor, Winter Sports and Outdoor Experts concepts bundle their respective expertise in the specific area of experience. This clear structure not only strengthens the impact and visibility in the market, but also provides orientation for specialist retailers, brand partners and end consumers. The international brand partner portfolio of SPORT 2000 Group International is clearly and diversely organised. In highly developed categories such as winter sports and running, the Group cooperates with the most important relevant brands. The close partnership with top brands emphasises the Group's standing in global sports retail. In future, other categories such as outdoor and team sports are also to be strategically expanded with the aim of further consolidating the Group's position as a reliable and relevant partner in global sports retail. "No other player in international sports retail combines breadth and depth in this quality. That is both our claim and our advantage," emphasises Gosau. With this precisely aligned portfolio of specialised retail formats, SPORT 2000 Group International opens up clear differentiation potential for its partners and sets a new standard in global sports retail. The ABSOLUTE concept (RUN, TEAMSPORT) in particular delivers impressive figures for successful stationary sports retail. "The performance of retail partners who have implemented the ABSOLUTE formats is extremely dynamic. Quite a few specialist retailers were able to increase their sales and profitability by 40-50% in the first few months and in some cases even double them. The transformation has so far resulted in a sustained positive development of all relevant retail key figures for all partners and new target customers have also been acquired, such as more female and younger consumers," says Gosau.

Expansion in international sports retail
SPORT 2000 Group International is further expanding its global presence by licensing the specialised ABSOLUTE TEAMSPORT format in Poland, Israel and Cyprus. The new markets are based on the successful ABSOLUTE Teamsport specialist concept and thus not only strengthen the visibility of the format, but also the positioning of SPORT 2000 as a retail service organisation with flexible, locally adaptable retail solutions. "The demand in new markets confirms this: Our speciality retail formats are convincing. We are continuing on our course and expanding our international presence in a targeted manner," says Margit Gosau.

SPORT 2000 Community: locally anchored, internationally networked
As an international umbrella organisation, SPORT 2000 positions itself as a driving force and enabler of a strong retail community. "With our expertise and strategic vision, we support our national licensees and franchise partners in fully exploiting their market potential and positioning themselves for long-term success," says the CEO. SPORT 2000 Group International combines regional market expertise with global synergies, creating the basis for more efficient processes, data-based product range management and a stronger ability to collaborate with the industry.