2. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 2
News and analysis of the international market
its online and catalog retail business, The Bulgarian unit will likely be sup- New Huadu, which was honored sev-
Scheck currently operates 16 stores plied from Décathlon's distribution eral times by China’s minister of com-
across the country, each with a sur- center in neighboring Romania, merce as best convenience shopping
face of at least 2,200 square meters. where the French giant already had destination, is described as the larg-
seven stores at the end of 2011, after est retailer in southern China, and its
If the pilot store turns out to work only two years of operation in that retail operations generate high traffic.
well, more stores of the type are set country, but it will have its own mana-
to pop up across the country. Scheck gement. Aleksandra Kostova is acting The plans call for five to eight more
sees a potential of 20-25 stores. In fact, as development director of the banner Intersport stores to be opened in
there are 50-odd cities of that size in in Bulgaria. South China in the first half of 2014.
Germany. The agreement between IIC and New
The new store, which was originally Huadu projected the opening of 80 to
Stefan Herzog, head of the executive planned to go on stream next spring, 100 stores in the next five years in ten
board, told this publication that he will be erected along the Circle Road provinces of southern China.
sees this new initiative as a tool to of Sofia. Curiously, it will sit across
strengthen Scheck’s multi-channel from the Sofia Business Park, which IIC said at the time that it wanted to
strategy. The chain wants to give ad- houses the main office and store of have 500 Intersport stores in Asia in
ditional service to existing customers Sport Depot, the country's largest ten years’ time, but these plans will be
who have been ordering through the sporting goods retailer. Sport Depot, adjusted after the group’s acquisition
web or by catalog so far. which is affiliated with Sport 2000 of The Athlete’s Foot, which has strong
International, has opened three new franchisees in several Asian coun-
Due to its smaller surface, the assort- stores so far this year, and it plans a tries, particularly Indonesia and the
ment of the new type of store will be similar number of openings in 2013. Philippines. South Korea is the only
different from the existing big outlets. Asian country where Intersport stores
Herzog said that some categories Last week, Sport Depot opened a have been opened so far.
would drop out due to space restric- new store of 1,100 m² in the Bulgar-
tions, but it has yet to define which ian Mall, lifting its total door count to Korea adopts and
ones. That will depend on the local 14 units, plus four franchises. All the adapts multi-brand
environment and the local competi- stores carry the Sport 2000 banner, At
tors, depending on their strengths and the same time, Intersport closed one sports retailing
weaknesses. of its five Bulgarian stores. Several international sports retailers
are investing to develop the multi-
Décathlon enters The Intersport license for Romania brand retail business in Korea, where
Bulgaria and Bulgaria is held by the big and the market remains largely driven by
successful Greek Fourlis group, and mono-brand stores and department
The Oxylane group will enter the Bul- it was recently extended to Turkey. stores.
garian market next year with its first Furlis Fourlis entered Romania in 2004
Décathlon store in the country. It is and then moved into Bulgaria in 2006. Among the latest investors in the Ko-
due to open in the country's capital, At that time, it was planning to have rean market is Xebio, the Japanese
Sofia, on a surface of 3,000 square ten Intersport franchises in Bulgaria. sports retailer. It had 458 stores in its
meters in September 2013. Reporte- own country by the end of June, in-
dly, Décathlon has been looking for Intersport is moving cluding 130 Super Sports Xebio stores,
a suitable location in Bulgaria for six ahead in China which are multi-sport specialists with
years or more. a sizable outdoor offering, and nine L-
Leases have been confirmed for the Breath stores, which are entirely dedi-
first three Intersport stores in China: cated to outdoor products.
The Euro
Dec. 10 rates
They will be opened from July to Sep-
Czech Koruna 25.26 tember 2013 in Fuzhou, Quanzhou and After the opening of a Xebio store in
Danish Krone 7.459 Xiamen in the south of China. All three Shanghai earlier this year, the Japa-
Hungarian Forint 283.2 of them will have a surface of about nese retailer confirmed that it was
Norwegian Krone 7.334 1,000 square meters and are close preparing to open a Super Sports
Polish Zloty 4.103
to hypermarkets and supermarkets Xebio store in Korea next year. An
Pound Sterling 0.803
Swedish Krona 8.638 operated by Fujian New Huadu Su- equal joint venture, Xebio Korea, was
Swiss Franc 1.207 percenter, the Chinese company that set up in April with a Korean partner,
U.S. Dollar 1.293 obtained a master franchising agree- the Cosmo group, but the Japanese re-
Brazilian Real 2.691 ment from Intersport International tailer declined to provide details. Oth-
Canadian Dollar 1.277
Chinese Yuan 8.070
Corporation (IIC) last March. er market players indicated that the
Japanese Yen 106.3 store would be opened in the Jongro
Russian Ruble 39.76 district of Seoul in March.
3. Page 3 Dec. 10, 2012
Intersport was the first multi-brand year, as the trend has attracted strong the space is still organized by brand,
and multi-sport retailer to move into competition and consumers are get- the other half is presented by sports
Korea two years ago, with a license ting wary of it. The private labels category. There are already more than
attributed to LG Fashion, a spinoff of abundantly sold by Intersport in other a dozen Big Ten stores around Korea
the huge LG group. Intersport Inter- countries reach only a tiny share of and the retailer has plans to open
national Corporation (IIC) picked this sales in Korea. many more, but the stores are within
country to start its Asian expansion supermarkets and therefore focus on
due to the development of the Korean Another retailer that is investing gen- cheaper products.
market and the fact that many of the erously in the Korean market is ABC
leading sports categories in Korea are Mart, the Japanese multi-brand shoe The entire Korean sporting goods
the same as in Europe, with the excep- retailer, which moved into the coun- market is still strongly dominated
tion of baseball. It swiftly opened 11 try in 2002 and has since opened 120 by thousands of mono-brand stores.
Intersport stores, including two stores stores around Korea. Most of them are franchised stores
of more than 2,000 square meters in that buy products on consignment.
Seoul, which were regarded as flagship This Japanese retailer is already the For several years Nike, Adidas and The
stores and as a marketing investment. largest customer for several sports North Face have been the only brands
brands in Korea, and it has substantial that sold their products to franchise
However, the licensee has since ad- expansion plans: ABC Mart said that partners without consignment. They
justed its format and targets for In- 30 openings were scheduled for next were recently joined by Reebok, and
tersport: While it previously want- year and it estimated the potential for Puma also sells some of its products
ed to open 25 stores of more than its format at about 250 stores in Korea. firmly now.Others pay a commission
1,000 square meters in five to seven of about 30 percent to 35 percent to
years, its revised plans call for 35 to With an average size of about 400 the retailers once the products are
40 stores with a size of 600 to 1,000 square meters, ABC Mart offers a mix- sold to consumers.
square meters, the format that proved ture of leisure and sports footwear
most suitable for the Korean market. brands. The sports category makes up These single-brand stores are spread
The two largest stores were closed 42 percent of the retailer’s sales in Ko- among an estimated 450 shopping
down and most of the nine remaining rea, led by Vans, for which ABC Mart areas and another 250 department
stores should become profitable by holds a license in Korea, ahead of Nike stores run by a few big groups: Lotte is
end of this year. and Adidas. Next is Dawkins, a casual the largest player with 35 department
brand licensed to ABC Mart, for which stores, compared with 13 for Hyundai
While merchandising in Intersport Ko- the retailer is preparing to launch a and nine larger department stores for
rea’s stores is impeccable, the retailer sports range. Shinsegae.
acknowledges that it has to improve
consumer traffic in the stores. This Apart from its Japanese and Korean While online sales have been rising,
is still a struggle in a market where stores, ABC Mart has a few stores in they are still relatively weak in the Ko-
consumers focus strongly on brands. Taiwan. Korean managers said that rean sporting goods market compared
Another issue is that there is relatively the Japanese retailer also had plans to with the phenomenal level of connec-
little demand for performance sports move into the European market next tivity in the country: Few are the Ko-
products in Korea, so that the exper- year and to purchase at least one more rean commuters who are not clutch-
tise offered by Intersport in other footwear brand – after its acquisition ing Samsung phones on their way to
countries may be less relevant. earlier this year of Lacrosse, the brand work, either texting or watching televi-
focusing on rubber boots, which were sion. None of the brands interviewed
Intersport has striven to adjust to this launched in ABC Mart’s Korean stores for this report made more than a few
situation by emphasizing its partner- last month. ABC Mart competes most percent of their sales through the in-
ship with leading brands and using directly in the Korean market with two ternet. Some have arranged for prod-
their logos on the front of the stores. other multi-brand footwear retailers, ucts to be delivered by the franchised
A large-scale marketing campaign was Lesmore and Shoemarker. Although store that is closest to the address of
launched a few weeks ago to raise Foot Locker has franchised stores in the customer. Others are working with
awareness of Intersport ahead of the the country, it has yet to become an mobile commerce, inserting QR codes
festive season. influential market player. in their ads so that consumers may di-
rectly order the featured products and
The main categories at the Intersport Another Korean concept that could get them delivered to their home.
stores are running, football, baseball be described as multi-brand is Big
and outdoor. While outdoor has been Ten, which is part of the E-Mart super- Goldwin sets its sights
driving the expansion of the entire market chain. Trials were started four on Central Europe
market in the last five years, Inters- years ago in two supermarkets, where
port expects that consumer appetite part of one floor was dedicated to Goldwin will have a completely new
for outdoor brands will taper off this sports products. While about half of stand, with a different look and con-
4. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 4
News and analysis of the international market
cept stressing its Japanese identity, at fit is going to fall short of its earlier Reebok as a “global-direct” business
next February’s Ispo show in Munich. forecast because of the unsatisfac- model, it goes with the establishment
The Japanese company, known for tory performance of its operations in of business units for training, running,
its very technical garments, is going Korea. walking, studio (dance and yoga), fit-
to launch a completely redesigned ness (the Reebok Cross-Fit concept),
skiwear line for the winter 2013-14 sea- Goldwin Korea Corporation is a joint classics and children’s.
son at Ispo to gain a broader clientele venture between Goldwin and Youn-
in the German-speaking countries and gone Holdings. Technically, it is also Reebok currently employs a total of
in Central Europe. Sporting a more ou- the Korean licensee of Goldwin for The around 8,000 people worldwide. Most
tdoor-oriented spirit for backcountry North Face, a brand for which Goldwin of the changes will be implemented
and side-country skiing, it is being has full rights in Japan Last Aug. 10, in January. Under a new joint operat-
presented to a few selected buyers in Youngone Holdings raised its stake ing model, each area will have a gen-
Europe and the U.S. this month. in the Korean joint venture from 57 eral manager at group level, plus one
to 59.3 percent in a transaction valu- brand director for Adidas and one for
The new line has been designed in Ja- ing the Korean company at 915 billion Reebok.
pan, but the company is planning to won (€656.0m-$848.5m). Youngone Holdings
put out more targeted products for owns 50 percent of Youngone Corpo- For the important DACH area, which
the European market at large in the fu- ration, a major OEM producer specia- comprises Germany, Austria and Swit-
ture. A new European product mana- lizing in outdoor clothing, footwear, zerland, where Martin Schindler has
ger has been dispatched from Japan backpacks, uniforms, work clothes already been placed in charge of the
to the new Goldwin Europe subsidiary and other products. Adidas brand, Katja Erbe is to become
that the company set up last April in regional brand director for Reebok
Baden, Switzerland, to broaden its Youngone also became the largest sin- from the start of next year. She has
reach across the continent. gle shareholder in Goldwin by acquir- been in the Adidas Group for 13 years,
ing more of its ordinary shares and currently serving as director of the
The new entity took over the role from voting rights in two stages last March franchise channel in the global whole-
the former European office of Goldwin and July. It now owns 19.12 percent of sale division.
in Milan. It is headed up by Ryoji Seki- Goldwin’s shares and 14.20 percent
to, who had previously overseen the of the voting rights, up from 13.02 She will report to Günter “Jimmy” Wei-
European market from Milan. Sekito percent and 7.99 percent, respectively, gl, managing director of the Adidas
had returned to Japan two years ago prior to last March. Group for its Central Area, covering
after spending 30 years with Asics, the German-speaking countries and
where he had acted most recently as Reebok streamlines some East European countries. Erbe
managing director of Asics UK and a will in effect take the place of Jeremy
director of Asics Europe. Reebok International is streamlining Bauer, who has acted as marketing
operations worldwide after the Adi- director of Reebok for the German-
Sekito has kept the responsibility das Group admitted a few days ago speaking countries. He will also be
for the Italian subsidiary of Goldwin, that the brand would not be able to leaving the company at the end of this
which has been renamed as Goldwin reach its previously set goals and re- year.
Italia. The Italian entity, which has duced its forecast for 2015 sales by
been in operation since 1994, it will one-third, deciding that it should get The function of general manager
concentrate on the markets of Italy, out of team sports and specialize in for Reebok in the German-speaking
France and Spain, where the brand fitness activities. countries will no longer exist from
is doing relatively well. The company next February. That position was pre-
recently appointed a new distributor A total of 150 jobs will be eliminated, viously occupied by Elke Stein, who
for Austria, Sport@Fashion. It says that partly through the shutdown of Ree- agreed a few days ago to switch to
it is not looking for any new ones in bok’s European office in Amsterdam Jack Wolfskin as joint general manager
the region at the moment. and its Asia-Pacific office in Hong from next Feb. 1.
Kong. Some of their regional functions
Last month, Goldwin raised its out- will be assumed by officials at Ree- Lotto works with Pan in
look for the current financial year, en- bok’s global headquarters in Canton, Thailand
ding next March 31. It expects to make Massachusetts, where a further 65
an operating profit of 1.7 billion yen positions will be scrapped. After changing the distribution of its
(€16.0m-$20.7m) on sales of more than ¥53 products in Australia, Lotto Sport Italia
billion (€49.8m-$64.5m), but at ¥1.9 billion The goal is to increase speed to has made a switch in Thailand, where
(€17.9m-$23.1m), its net earnings for the market and to generate efficiencies it was previously working through
year should be lower than previously through a category management Paragon Vest. It has signed a five-year
expecte. Sales have been growing fas- model, similar to the approach used licensing agreement with Bangkok
ter than predicted, but the net pro- for the Adidas brand. Described at Athletic Company, a subsidiary of the
5. Page 5 Dec. 10, 2012
big Pan Holdings group. The goal is to running and racquet sports segments Champion will be the exclusive appa-
become one of the six largest players with shoes, clothing and accesso- rel outfitter of these two teams of the
in the growing Thai sporting goods ries in the performance and lifestyle club, but the agreement doesn’t cover
market by 2015, with annual sales athletic market. Pan also has many the Galatasaray football team, which
of about €5 million at the wholesale styles of casual and dress shoes. is sponsored by Nike. Champion will
level. also have the global merchandisng
Among other activities, Pan also has rights for several lines of officially
Pan and Lotto estimate that, together, its own chain of multi-brand spor- licensed collections, including authen-
the ten major sports brands are gen- ting goods stores, called Sports Town, tic replica uniforms and fan apparel.
erating annual sales of around €50 which is going to be expanded from 12
million at wholesale in Thailand. Ac- to 20 locations in the course of next Champion Europe is already a global
cording to their estimates, the two year. The Lotto brand will be sold at de- partner of the International Basket-
leading brands are Adidas and Nike, dicated shop-in-shops in all the stores ball Federation (FIBA) and the official
with annual sales of more than €10 of Sports Town. Market tests have outfitter of the Italian and Hellenic
million, followed closely by Pan, the already been carried out for Lotto in Basketball Federations. It is also the
house brand of the group with which the last couple of months in Sports exclusive partner of the European Vol-
Lotto is doing business now. Reebok Town stores and in dedicated shop- leyball Federation (CEV).
and Puma, which recently took over in-shops in the department stores of
the distribution of their products in Sports World and the Mall Group. Blue Tomato weighs
Thailand, probably come next. With down on Zumiez
annual sales of about €2.5 million Pan has been making shoes for seve-
each, Diadora and Kappa come next. ral foreign brands – but not Lotto un- Zumiez, the big American action
Because of the transition from Para- til now. In fact, Pan is said to be the sports retailer that took over Blue
gon Vest to Pan, Lotto will have sales most important manufacturer and Tomato last July, continues to believe
of only about €1.5 million in Thailand distributor of footwear in the region, in the long-term potential for the ex-
this year. with a production capacity for more pansion of the Austrian-based online
than 30 million pairs a year. Pan is retailer. In the short term, however,
Besides selling the Pan brand in Thai- owned by Saha, which began manu- it is suffering from its sudden lack
land, Bangkok Athletic seems to have facturing sports shoes back in 1964. of dynamism, due no doubt in part
a special fondness for southern Euro- It launched the Pan brand ten years to the difficult economic situation in
pean football brands. It already has later. Saha is described as the biggest Europe as well as to unfavorable wea-
distribution and licensing contracts single conglomerate in Thailand with ther conditions, which have negati-
with Diadora, Joma, Kappa and Wolve- an annual turnover of €613 million vely affected its sales of snow sports
rine. It sells the whole range of Diado- and some 100,000 employees in the products lately.
ra products under a licensing deal that country and elsewhere.
runs until 2015. It also has contracts In releasing its quarterly results, the
for Nike children's footwear and for Champion enters management of Zumiez also indica-
Wolverine shoes. Turkey ted that the chain is suffering in the
U.S. from a shift in consumer demand
Lotto's licensing deal with Bangkok Champion Europe has decided to enter from skate looks to sleeker and more
Athletic is for all its performance the Turkish market by the big door. It technical offerings in the running and
and leisure products. However, Ban- has set up a sales office and opened basketball segments.
gkok Athletic is first introducing the its first store in the country, while at
brand's offerings in the football and the same time striking a sponsorship For the third quarter ended Oct. 27,
futsal categories to establish its cre- deal with a major local sports club. Zumiez reported a drop of 10.4 percent
dibility as a performance-oriented Though it is already very strong in in net income to $12.7 million, due in
sports brand. Tennis and running neighboring Greece, Champion had part to charges of $4.0 million related to
will probably come next, followed at stayed away from the Turkish market inventory valuation and other issues re-
a later stage by sports fashion. It's a until now. lated to the acquisition of Blue Tomato.
different setup from China, where its Furthermore, while total revenues were
licensee, Li Ning, has positioned Lotto The company’s first store in Turkey is up by 16.9 percent to $180.0 million for
as more of a sports lifestyle brand, located in the Cevahir Mall of Istanbul. the quarter, thanks in part to a contri-
partly because football is not as im- The sponsorship contract is with the bution of $8.1 million from Blue Tomato,
portant there as it is in Thailand. basketball and volleyball teams of the the overall gross margin was down to
well-known Galatasaray Sports Club, 37.3 percent from 39.1 percent in the
In terms of price, Lotto is being posi- one of the most important ones of the year-ago period.
tioned in the medium-high segment, kind in Europe. Located in Istanbul,
under Adidas and Nike and above the club will celebrate its 100th anni- Blue Tomato, which trades mostly
Pan, a brand that covers the football, versary in 2015. via e-commerce in Europe, did grow
6. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 6
News and analysis of the international market
in the quarter, but the rate of the in- not at the show. Instead of a booth at functions will be consolidated there,
crease was below plan, and it was the fairground, Jet Set decided to rent instead of being shared with Zoggs’
not specified. At Zumiez, which has space on Praterinsel, the small island head office in the U.K. The operation
opened 56 new stores so far this year, in the Isar river in the heart of the city. will be run by Neil McConnochie, son
sales rose by 3.7 percent on a compa- of the brand’s founder.
rable store basis during the quarter, Jet Set was founded in St. Moritz, Swit-
but then declined in the subsequent zerland, back in 1969, but its head of- Zoggs is performing relatively well in
four weeks…. fice is in Milan. It has been a part of the the U.K., where its sales are set to grow
Gaydoul Group since 2009. The Swiss this year by 9 percent. Elsewhere, its
In spite of the know-how provided company is the holding company of revenues are increasing at an annual
by Blue Tomato in the area of snow- the Gaydoul-Schweri family. It markets rate of more than 20 percent, but
boarding and other winter sports pro- brands such as Navyboot for footwear, Hammersley feels that the brand can
ducts, Zumiez is de-emphasizing this Fogal for hosiery and knitwear, and grow even faster internationally. In
segment in the U.S. It has decided that Hanhart for watches. Gaydoul Group particular, he sees more room for ex-
fewer of its stores will carry this type was founded in 2007 and is positioned pansion in Australia, where the brand
of item. as a marketer of premium and luxury was born in 1992. To help Davies in his
brands. The group is run by Philippe new mission, Zoggs has hired three
Jet Set hires Chiemsee’s Gaydoul, the grandson of Karl Schweri. more salespeople in Australia and set
founder for its skiwear The family sold its workhorse, Denner, up a subsidiary in New Zealand.
the price-driven Migros food and gene-
Jet Set has announced its return to the ral retail chain in 2007. While Francis is talking to potential
skiwear category. The Swiss apparel distributors and licensees in Den-
brand was iconic for its snow wear in Zoggs takes new mark, Russia and the Balkans, Davies
the 1980s, but put later on its focus on initiatives to expand is concentrating on Malaysia and
pure fashion. To set a momentum in other parts of Southeast Asia. For
the newly rediscovered sports catego- After growing by more than 50 percent the U.S. and Canada, a new company,
ry, Jet Set has hired Martin Imdahl, the since Mark Hammersley, a former pre- Vision Products International, recently
well-known founder of the Chiemsee sident of Speedo, took the helm of the took over a license for Zoggs from
brand, who also created the label Mat- company five years ago, Zoggs, the a previous partner, but it continues
ador in 1996. Imdahl will be in charge Australian brand of high-end swim to work there through an American
of the design of the ski collection. goggles, has hired two other seaso- consultant, Steven Davis, who comes
ned industry veterans in the last few from Warnaco. He also provides useful
The company has also appointed months and taken other initiatives to input on product development.
Georg Eder in charge of international expand further internationally and
sales, exclusively dedicated to the ski to refine its product range. Zoggs is already doing well in Ger-
segment. Eder formerly served at Toni many and Austria through a distribu-
Sailer Sports. In his new role he will Martin Francis, a former top executive tor, Filser Sport & Marketing, which
report to Katharina Rothmeier, whole- of Clarks, Reebok and Hush Puppies, specializes in triathlon. In a rather
sale & retail manager for northern has joined Zoggs at its head office in original setup that has turned out to
Europe. She is actually in charge of the U.K. in the new position of inter- be very effective for the brand, Fil-
global sales for the Jet Set collection. national sales manager, responsible ser's action is supported by a sales
for Europe, the Middle East and Africa manager employed by the U.K. office,
Currently, the company sells its fash- and for the development of distant Mathias Angele. Building up on its ini-
ion range mainly in northern and cen- markets in Japan, South Korea and tial market launch in Germany in the
tral Europe, Italy and the U.S. Sales India. Additionally, Rob Davies, a Bri- triathlon segment, Zoggs more recent-
and marketing are supported by eight tish executive who has worked for ly introduced its 7-year-old swimwear
single-brand stores, which are mainly Speedo in the U.K. and Australia for line and other products in Germany
located in ski resorts. Five stores are eight years, has been named general and Austria, where it is now working
in Switzerland and one each in Aus- manager of the company for the Asia- with the retailers affiliated with Inters-
tria, Germany and Aspen, Colorado. Pacific region, based in Hong Kong. port and Sport 2000.
Naturally, those stores will also carry
the ski collection. Meanwhile, The Kendal Group (TKG), To avoid head-on confrontation with
the fund owned by the Gestetner bro- the major players in the swimwear
Two-thirds of the snow wear range is thers that took over Zoggs in 2003, has market, Zoggs has entered some other
designed for women, and one-third for formed a joint venture in Hong Kong, new markets with its junior line before
men. The price range is set to be be- called TKG Asia, with its local sourcing adding other items to its local offe-
tween €300 and €1,000 at retail. To pro- agent, Blue Fusion Group. It previously rings. In most new markets, the brand
mote the new offer, Jet Set will present owned a 20 percent stake in the com- tends to come up first with its goggles
its skiwear in Munich during Ispo – but pany. All the design and development and other products before adding its
7. Page 7 Dec. 10, 2012
adult swimwear once its presence in also launch two new ranges next year, to help make cycling more attractive.
the market has reached a more ma- a city utility commuter and a beach The organization has set up a commis-
ture stage. Launched several years cruiser. sion of inquiry, which will hear evi-
ago, swimwear represents about 30 dence from April next year, but Change
percent of sales now in the U.K., but Solé Bicycles Europe is headed by Väinö Cycling Now is not convinced that this
the ratio is much lower in Australia, Kaalikoski, a young Finnish executive commission is adequate to evoke real
for example. who comes from unrelated consumer change, or to investigate allegations
product industries and retailing. The of a mysterious payment of $125,000
One of Zoggs’ strengths in the swim- chief operating officer and chairman made by Lance Armstrong in 2011.
wear sector is a line of supportive of the board is Jeri Luhtanen, who
swimwear for women, called Swim- has spent many years at his family’s The London meeting of Change Cycling
shapes, that features graduated pad- company, the L-Fashion Group, owner Now was attended by Greg LeMond,
ding and full-foam, wired and remov- of Luhta, Rukka and other brands, with the triple winner of the Tour de France,
able cups. However, the use of special retail interests in Finland. who has been publicly questioning Am-
lenses for its goggles remains the strong’s performances since at least
biggest asset for the brand. Its most Skins' challenge against 2001, and other pro riders including
recent range features polarized sun the UCI gets little Jonathan Vaughters, Jörg Jaksche and
lenses and curved lenses for wider Gianni Bugno. The other speakers and
peripheral vision. An important new industry backing attendees included important person-
development in lens technology will In an interesting case of a sponsor alities such as Travis Tygart, chief ex-
come out later this month. boldly asserting its influence, Skins, ecutive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
the Australian brand of compression (Usada); a sporting director, Eric Boyer;
Solé Bicycles moves into garments, has brought together a the doping experts Michael Ashenden
Europe pressure group, called Change Cycling and John Hoberman; and Jaimie Fuller,
Now, which grabbed headlines last chairman of Skins.
Solé Bicycles, a trendy American brand week by demanding urgent changes
of fixed-gear bicycles, has started ex- in the management of cycling compe- LeMond, who is now 51 years old,
ploring several European markets fol- titions, in the wake of the Lance Arm- said he was prepared to step in as a
lowing the opening of a regional head strong doping scandal. temporary replacement for McQuaid,
office in Finland earlier this year. The to help prepare a transition. Reporte-
company has begun by setting up dis- At a two-day meeting in London earli- dly, he indicated that, ultimately, the
tribution in the Nordic countries and er this month, the group called for the UCI should be run by a person above
holding talks with potential partners immediate resignation of Pat McQuaid, any suspicions such as Dick Pound,
in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium president of the Union Cycliste Inter- a member of the International Olym-
and France. nationale (UCI) since 2005; and Hein pic Committee who chaired the World
Verbruggen, the organization’s presi- Anti-Doping Agency between 1999 and
Solé has been enjoying much expo- dent for 14 years until 2005, who is 2007.
sure in the U.S. since it was launched still its honorary president. The group
there by two college students in 2009. felt that they had to resign because of Regarding the UCI’s leadership, an
The brand is emphasizing the quality the UCI’s alleged mishandling of the election for the next four-year term
and affordable price of its products, doping scandal that unfolded earlier is scheduled to take place at the or-
but much of the attraction comes from this year, culminating in the censure ganization’s Congress in Florence in
Solé’s particularly stylish design, in line of Lance Amstrong, stripped of his September 2013. The candidates have
with the retro trend for urban bicycles. titles after many years of suspicion. to be put forward by their national
federations, and the president will
Another distinctive aspect is that Solé The group further called for a short- be elected by a group of 42 delegates
is sold only online in the U.S. market. term amnesty for all cyclists to declare representing members from all the
The same will apply for the U.K. early any of their drug-abusing past, and the regional confederations affiliated with
next year. Solé Europe wants to team launch of an independent commission the international organization.
up with wholesalers and retailers in to investigate the UCI and the senior
the U.K. and other European markets, management of related sports organi- The launch of Change Cycling Now
however. zations. Another demand was that the came after Skins, which is strongly in-
control of doping in cycling should volved in cycling sponsorship, started
Solé has sold more than 10,000 bi- no longer be the responsibility of the legal proceedings, claiming damages
cycles so far around the world and UCI, but should instead be entrusted of $2 million from the UCI. Fuller said
expects to sell another 10,000 units to an independent organization. that any damages obtained through
next year alone, as it expands into this action would be invested directly
Europe and then Latin America, from The UCI firmly refused to comment, into clean cycling. Based on the reac-
Brazil to Colombia and Mexico. It will but announced a broad consultation tions to Skins’ claim, however, he has
8. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 8
News and analysis of the international market
also seized the momentum to esta- Furthermore, it appears that none of golf clubs, archery and other uses,
blish a hard-hitting pressure group. the WFSGI members has suggested has agreed in principle to merge with
open support for Change Cycling Now Mitsubishi Rayon America (MRA), a
Other leading players in the cycling – even though many of them probably leading supplier of carbon fiber and
industry were conspicuously absent do endorse the broader demands by advanced composite materials. The
from the meeting in London and appa- the pressure group to clean up cycling. company's directors, senior officers
rently none of them has publicly sup- De Kock acknowledged that doping and shareholders who collectively
ported the initiative so far. issues undermine the value of invest- own 41 percent of Aldila's shares have
ments by WFSGI members in bicycle agreed to the transaction. A sharehol-
The World Federation of the Sporting teams and races, but he is convinced ders' meeting scheduled for Dec. 27 is
Goods Industry (WFSGI) has also re- that the doping scandal is unlikely to set to endorse it for good.
frained from backing Change Cycling have any significant impact on their
Now. Far from criticizing its manage- sales of bicycles used for transporta- Based on a price of $4.00 per share,
ment after the Armstrong scandal, the tion and leisure cycling, which form the proposed merger values Aldila at
WFSGI has in fact confirmed the UCI as by far the largest part of the market. about $22 million, 60 percent above
its partner for negotiations regarding its closing stock market quotation on
regulations on race cycling equipment. Tempers are more likely to get frayed, Dec. 3. The company made an ope-
he said, in cases where the rules of rating loss of $5.3 million in the nine
Two years ago the WFSGI set up a sports organizations have a direct months ended last September, 109
bicycle committee, which currently impact on sales and profits. This par- percent more than the loss sustained
includes nearly all the leading players ticularly applies to Rule 40 of the Inter- in the year-ago period, due in parti-
in the industry, from Giant to Trek, Shi- national Olympic Committee’s Charter, cular to manufacturing inefficiencies,
mano, Sram and many more. It takes which prevents companies from using coupled with a delay in raw materia
part in activities to improve infrastruc- Olympic athletes in “generic” adver- l shipments to its plants.
ture for cycling and to encourage more tising during the Games. De Kock
people to get on their bikes. It also claimed that the related costs for the Aldila's net sales increased by 7
represents the industry in talks with (temporary) adjustment of websites percent in the nine-month period
organizations such as the UCI. and approvals for global campaigns to $38.7 million. While sales of com-
have caused significant losses for the posite materials fell by 21 percent,
Robbert de Kock, general secretary of industry. He estimated them in the sales of composite products jumped
the WFSGI, said that good progress had hundreds of millions of euros, and by 18 percent to $30.7 million, with
been made in the last two years, and pointed out that this money has not increases of 12 percent in golf-related
that any openly antagonistic moves by been reinvested into sport or the sup- sales and 71 percent in archery-rela-
the WFSGI toward the UCI’s manage- port of athletes. ted sales. Unit sales of golf shafts went
ment could undermine the constructive up by 13 percent. Sales of archery
aspect of current discussions. There are The impressive resonance of the products were boosted by a transfer
still many issues to be sorted out with Change Cycling Now campaign owes of the production to Vietnam. The
the UCI, such as the rules on the safety much to the personality of Fuller, company has closed down a factory
of wheels and the adjustment of the an outspoken manager who had no in China.
rules to the latest technology. qualms about directly confronting
the UCI. Skins’ business does not rely Johnson Watercraft
De Kock added that a previous organiza- solely on cycling. Furthermore, the hires rival's designer
tion set up by cycling equipment com- issues around cycling are particu-
panies in 2009 to make the industry’s larly blatant and the sport attracts a Johnson Outdoors Watercraft has hi-
weight felt more heavily in talks with the lot of media attention. Still, if Change red an industry veteran, Bob McDo-
UCI, the Global Organization of Cycling Cycling Now does succeed in its ob- nough, as its director of research and
Equipment Manufacturers, had not obtai- jectives of changing the UCI’s manage- development. He joins the American
ned any results. In his view, the current ment, it could serve as an encourage- company from Confluence Waters-
improvements partly stem from the ment for other sponsors to make their ports, where he led the development
commitment of McQuaid himself, who influence felt more strongly in other of numerous market-leading products
agreed to hold talks with the WFSGI cases of allegedly dubious manage- as vice president of design and senior
as the industry’s representative; and ment by other sports organizations. designer. In his new role, he will be
the arrival of a new general manager responsible for the entire product de-
at the UCI, Christoph Hübschmidt. The Aldila merges with velopment process, reporting directly
WFSGI also applauded the UCI’s move Mitsubishi to Bill Kelly, vice president of Johnson
to appoint an engineer to frame its rules Outdoors Watercraft and Gear.
on equipment. This job was previously Aldila, a major U.S.-based supplier of
assigned to a philosopher, causing some carbon fiber shafts and other com- Meanwhile, Johnson Outdoors repor-
confusion. posite products and materials for ted a sales increase of 1.2 percent to
9. Page 9 Dec. 10, 2012
$412.3 million for the fiscal year en- leading American brand of outdoor percent, respectively – but they saw a
ded Sept. 28, compared with $407.4 cooking systems, which will become decline of 4.9 percent in Europe, down
million in fiscal 2011, due to record part of the company’s Outdoor Gear to $1.46 billion. The total shoe manu-
sales in Marine Electronics that more business unit. The $16 million acqui- facturing volume fell by 5.4 percent
than offset declines in other units. On sition is expected to be accretive to to 308.9 million pairs, but Yue Yuen
a constant currency basis, net sales earnings in the first full fiscal year of remained the world’s largest shoe
were 2.5 percent above the previous ownership (more in The Outdoor In- manufacturer.
year. More than 45 percent of total dustry Compass).
sales were generated by the launch By contrast, the group’s retail busi-
of successful new products, the com- Under a three-year business plan that ness of sportswear in the Greater
pany said. ended last September, Johnson has China region registered a revenue in-
been focusing its efforts on strengthe- crease of 13.6 percent to $1.63 billion,
The net income for the year was down ning operations and enhancing market primarily due to the acquisition of
to $10.1 million from $32.6 million in performance against the backdrop of regional retailers, the opening of new
the prior year. Pre-tax income was a gradual recovery of outdoor recrea- stores and promotional sales for the
62.7 percent higher, but a significant- tion markets. Looking ahead to 2015, liquidation of inventory.
ly higher effective tax rate led to the the company says it plans to focus
overall decline in net profits. investments on sustaining leader- The recurring pre-tax profit for the
ship in fishing electronics, maintain- group was up by 0.7 percent to $467.7
Outdoor Gear revenues declined by ing positive momentum in core dive million. The group also had non-re-
9.1 percent due to a significant drop equipment segments, and regaining curring profit for the period of $38.5
in U.S. military spending and the divi- leadership in specialty camping and million, compared with a loss in the
sion’s exit from non-strategic consu- paddling channels. previous 12-month period. When ag-
mer camping accounts. In the Diving gregating both categories of profit, the
segment, strong performance in North Yue Yuen posts small net profit attributable to owners of
America and Asia-Pacific was offset sales growth for the company for the 12-month period
by unfavorable currency translations, amounted to approximately $506.2
which had a negative 4.3 percent im- athletic shoes million.
pact on sales. On a currency-neutral Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings repor-
basis, diving sales were 2.6 percent ted consolidated revenues of about A gradual improvement in factory op-
above the prior year. Watercraft sales US$7.30 billion for the 12 months en- erating efficiencies and stable spot
were up by 0.8 percent, thanks to ded Sept. 30, up by 3.6 percent from prices for materials and energy con-
higher sales of low-margin products the previous comparable period. The tributed to a 6.9 percent increase in
and the sale of inventory to a distribu- company, which trades on the Hong gross profit. However, selling, distri-
tor related to closure of the unit's U.K. Kong stock exchange, decided a few bution and administrative expenses
sales office. months ago to change the final date of increased by 9.1 percent to $1,151.4
its financial year from Sept. 30 to Dec. million, driven by inflation in the Asian
For the fourth quarter, total net sales 31, to coincide with the fiscal years environment, particularly in China,
declined by 3.3 percent compared with of its major operating subsidiaries in leading to rising wages and higher ren-
the prior year’s quarter. A net loss of China, so its new financial year will tal costs. The group’s share of profits
$3.2 million was registered in the quar- start next Jan. 1. at associated and jointly controlled
ter, against net income of $17.3 million entities increased by 45.1 percent to
in the same period a year ago, due In the 12 months through last Septem- $90.7 million.
primarily to the reversal of the com- ber, the group’s shoe manufacturing
pany's tax valuation allowance. On an revenues grew by only 1.5 percent to Yue Yuen further reduced its excellent
adjusted basis, the group would have $5.07 billion, due to increased cau- debt/equity ratio, down to 8 percent
suffered a net loss of $4.6 million in the tion by its brand-name customers in from 11 percent at the end of the pre-
fourth quarter of 2011. placing their orders. Sales of athle- vious fiscal year. Yue Yuen expects mo-
tic shoes improved by 1.8 percent to derate growth in both of its main areas
The company said that its fourth-quar- $3.75 billion, while those of casual/ou- of business, but the management
ter results reflected an industry-wide tdoor shoes inched up by 0.5 percent warns that profitability will depend on
slowing of sales and production, due to $1.24 billion. Sales of sports sandals the challenging variability of the mar-
to the seasonality of warm-weather rose by 1.2 percent to $82.2 million, ket. In the long term, the group expects
outdoor recreational products. while revenues from components de- demand for athletic and casual shoes
clined by 2.6 percent to $587.5 million. as well as sportswear to grow.
Johnson reported a 69.4 percent
increase in cash, net of debt, as of Revenues from shoe manufacturing Looking forward, the group plans to
Sept. 28. On Nov. 14, the company experienced increases in the U.S. adopt a more customer-oriented ap-
announced the purchase of Jetboil, a and Asia regions – up by 1.2 and 9.2 proach for both the global manufactu-
10. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 10
News and analysis of the international market
ring business and the retail business and personal trainers. The most Italian kids are
in China. On the retail side, the group interesting fitness product has also encouraged to exercise
has been taking into account effec- been invented by a German company:
tive consumer preferences, and this Shake Fit is a fitness drink that can be Assosport, the Italian sporting goods
should help improve inventory man- mixed individually by its user accor- industry association, has collected
agement. ding to his or her training targets, €80,000 for an initiative intended to
like weight reduction or building up promote sports participation among
For its manufacturing business, the muscles. children under the age of 12 whose
group is looking at enhanced produc- families don't have enough money to
tion capabilities through supply chain The young entrepreneurs of another pay for their registration in a sports
integration, manufacturing excellence prize-winner from the U.S., Soloshot, club.
and automation. It wants to ensure have created a device that enables an
more quality and flexibility for its athlete to photograph or film himself The funds were collected through an
clients. The company says it wants to or herself while surfing, skiing, cycling auction on eBay of sports products
achieve leadership in sustainability etc. by transmitting data to a camera. offered by Assosport members and
and corporate social responsibility. Soloshot made it to the top in the ac- worn by well-known Italian athletes,
cessories category of the BrandNew some of whom have actually signed
Eight companies get Awards. them.
Ispo's BrandNew
A British firm, Ashmei, convinced the The proceeds of the auction have al-
Awards jury with its innovative sportswear, lowed the parents of about 400 child-
A high-ranking jury has picked the particularly its running jackets. Made ren to obtain vouchers of up to €150 to
winners of next year’s Ispo BrandNew of natural fabrics, they feature high be redeemed at some of the 500-odd
Awards. Like their predecessors over breathability, light weight and state- sports clubs from the Veneto region
the last years, some of which have of-the-art fitting. According to the jury, that are participating in the project,
become important players in the the most stylish product of the year is sponsored by regional authorities and
market, they will all enjoy free exhibi- an invention by the U.S. company Spi- by the Italian Olympic Committee.
tion space in a show within the show rithoods which integrates earphones
at Ispo Munich on Feb. 3-6. and gloves into warm caps covered With more than 1,000 families asking
with synthetic bear fur. to benefit from the program, Assos-
The award in the winter hardgoods port is now launching a second auc-
category goes to Splitpicks, an Aus- The prize in the social awareness cate- tion on eBay between Dec. 7 and 14
trian firm that has invented an easy- gory goes to High Five, a German non- for items signed or worn by a dozen
to-use binding for splitboards. The profit organization that supports disad- sports champions and members of
best hardgood product for summer is vantaged children and gives them the the Naples, Sheffield and Edinburgh
coming from Aetem, a German com- opportunity to do sports such as snow- football teams. Christof Innerhofer, Ivi-
pany that has created a multi-use sea- boarding or skateboarding. Instead of ca Kostelic and Troy Bayliss are among
trekking pack combining a bodyboard a getting a vote from the same jury, a the athletes lending their names to
with a backpack and a trolley. ninth award will be conferred on the this pilot project of Assosport.
basis of a panel of consumers that will
An innovative electronic solution has be run on the Facebook page of SportS- Called “Dote in Movimento” (Move-
been developed by another German check between Jan. 8 and Jan. 30. It will ment Dowry), it will be extended to all
company, Becoacht, which has won a give consumers the opportunity to pick of Italy if it is successful. Why not test
prize for a web-based platform that the best product from the winners in the a similar program in other countries?
brings together sports enthusiasts eight categories described above.
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11. Page 11 Dec. 10, 2012
News Briefs & Short Stops
Corporate The Indian Batra Group and other investors have reportedly ac-
quired undisclosed shareholdings in Rampant Sporting, a British
Iconix Brand Group has announced the completion of its acqui- young fashion brand founded five years ago that is expanding inter-
sition of Umbro and the related intellectual property assets from nationally and online. Rirchard Hartley will remain at the helm of
Nike for $225 million in cash. Iconix funded the takeover through the company. Batra is the licensee of Fila in the Indian subconti-
a previously announced $600 million securized financing facility. nent. It previously had a major stake in its European operations.
Umbro took its name from Humphrey Brothers Clothing, a com-
pany founded in 1924 by two brothers, Harold and Wallace Hum- Cocona, the American materials technology company that is see-
phreys. Besides its own lines of football garments, the compa- king to expand in the sporting goods and outdoor sectors, has secu-
ny acted as the distributor of Adidas in the U.K. between 1961 and red a private placement for $15 million in additional equity. The
1986. Nike acquired Umbro in October 2007 for £285 million (€382 company will use the funds for marketing, the development of new
million or $567 million at the exchange rate of the time) from a technologies and general working capital purposes. Cocona, which
variety of shareholders, including Sports Direct International was one of the sponsors at the recent European Outdoor Forum,
and JJB Sports, to further expand its reach in the football mar- has technology that improves the breathability and drying time of
ket. Nike took over the sponsorship of the Brazilian football team performance apparel. Customers include Adidas, Eddie Bauer,
from Umbro in the 1990s. After its acquisition of the brand, it took Harley Davidson, The North Face and Under Armour.
over other juicy endorsements including, most recently, the English
football team. Fischer and its sister brand of sports clothing, Löffler, are working
more closely together in marketing and sales. As part of this pro-
Snowleader, a French online retailer of snow sports products, has cess, the two brands will have a common Swiss sales and marketing
carried out an equity increase of €400,000 by issuing new shares to office of 9,000 square meters in a former paper plant at Stettlen,
a couple of institutional investors and private shareholders to help according to Schweizer Sport + Mode. Fischer’s former Swiss
pursue its further development, according to sport-guide.com. sales office at Bad Ragaz has been downsized to concentrate on ski
Thomas Rouault, who started up the website four years ago, will maintenance.
retain majority control. The company reached breakeven results in
the financial year ended last August on sales of €3.6 million. +++ The funds managed by Odin Frovaltning have decreased their
joint holdings in Rapala VMC to 4.61% of its shares and voting rights
Auchan, the big French-based operator of hypermarkets, which is +++
contolled like Décathlon by the French Mulliez family, has
agreed to take over the 91 Real markets in Poland, Romania, Rus- Retail
sia and Ukraine, most of which sell a narrow selection of low-priced
sports apparel, footwear and equipment, among many other types The first and only Budget Sport store in Sweden is closing its
of products. The acquisition, which is said to bring €1.1 billion into doors. Ola Persson, the Intersport franchisee who has been run-
the coffers of Metro, parent company of Real, also covers 13 shop- ning the store, has found a new tenant for the location from the
ping centers in Romania and Russia. Auchan already operates 98 Sportringen chain. According to Intersport officials, there were
megastores in the four countries. Auchan had previously taken over at least two reasons for dropping the experiment. The shopping
the seven Cora hypermarkets in Hungary. The new transaction will center in Töcksfors, which hosted the store, did not reach the ex-
create a balanced network of 209 stores for Auchan in Eastern Eu- pected footfall, leading other retailers to shut down. Furthermore,
rope, 266 in Western Europe and 274 in Asia. Intersport Sverige, the Swedish cooperative of Intersport that has
adopted the Budget Sport banner developed in neighboring Fin-
PPR is apparently waiting for a recovery at Puma before making land, decided earlier this year to concentrate on the development
other acquisitions in the sports and lifestyle sectors, where it is of the Intersport banner.
eyeing the outdoor segment in particular. At a press conference in
New York, François-Henri Pinault, chief executive of the French Intersport France is growing rapidly in the mountain resorts,
group, was reported by Women's Wear Daily as saying that the where 18 new stores joined the cooperative so far this year, buil-
outdoor and action sports area is “really where we think sports per- ding up to a total of 206 units specializing in snow and outdoor
formance extends to the lifestyle field, and it's where we want to sports. Thanks to the new store openings, the retailers affiliated
express ourselves.” He also pointed out that, with Puma being a with Intersport in the mountain resorts have seen their revenues
distant Number 3 after Nike and Adidas, it is “not at all where our increase by 8 percent so far this year. Their share of Intersport's
ambition is for the brand, so we're putting in place the right orga- total retail turnover in France is expected to grow from 18 to 25
nization to fulfill that. Once we're on track, we'll continue to build percent by 2015. The cooperative has a goal of reaching total annual
the portfolio around Puma,” he added. Meanwhile, PPR has sold retail sales of €1.9 billion in three years' time, up from €1.4 bil-
the last component of its Redcats operation in the U.S.: OneS- lion at present, partly through the addition of 90 more stores, 50 of
topPlus Group, a group of virtual stores focusing on products for which should be located in the mountains.
large-sized women.
Go Sport has finally started up its virtual store in France. The
launch is accompanied by a contest on the internet for pur-
12. SGI Europe
Sporting Goods Intelligence www. sgieurope.com Page 12
News and analysis of the international market
chase vouchers, tickets for a match of the Paris Saint-Germain gner’s boutique in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Commonly known
(PSG) football team and jerseys signed by the team’s players, with as AI, the designer will sign a special cult-type sneaker for Li Ning's
which Go Sport struck a partnership last July. For its user-friendly Wade line, which will be presented at the Fashion Week in New
web shop, the sports retail chain is using the e-commerce platform York next February, before its retail launch in the spring.
of Cdiscount.com, a discount-oriented web store controlled by its
own main shareholder, Rallye. Go Sport, which has 125 physical Napapijri, the Italian sports lifestyle brand of VF Corporation,
stores in France, had already made a test on the internet in 2000, has a new country manager for Germany, responsible also for Aus-
but dropped the project because it did not feel that it was sufficient- tria and Switzerland. Dirk Pracel, who previously took care of key
ly mature to go online. accounts in these countries and in Eastern Europe, has been pro-
moted to the position, replacing Uwe Lehmann.
Escada plans to start its own online shop for the German and Aus-
tria markets in the spring of 2013, according to Textilwirtschaft. Lord Seb Coe, the former athlete who chaired the London Organis-
Other countries should follow in the autumn. It should start up with ing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of the past
only a selection of items from the brand's main collection, including summer, has been elected executive chairman of CSM Sport &
its Escada Sport line. Entertainment, replacing next January Alan Pascoe, who will
become president of the organization. CSM is a major global sports
Intersport Bündl is the first affiliate of Intersport in Austria to have marketing network, based in the U.K., which works with more than
set up a full-fledged factory outlet. It is located in the factory out- 100 clients across 40 different sports. Its activities include mar-
let center operated by McArthur Glenn in Salzburg, far away from keting, sponsorship, athlete representation, support for bidding
Intersport Bündl's 18 other Intersport stores in the country. The campaigns for world-class events. CSM is part of a public company,
factory outlet has a total surface of 1,600 square meters, four times Chime Communications.
larger than a previous test store opened in the same center by In-
tersport Bündl under a different name. Esprit has signed a distribution contract for the Middle East and
North Africa with the Al-Futtaim Group, and it is evaluating new
With a new location in the town of Uppsala, XXL Sport has now options for the Indian market, where it has agreed not to extend
opened its ninth store in Sweden. In 2012 alone, the Norwegian its current distribution agreement with Madura Fashion & Lifes-
retailer has opened four of its megastores in the country. It wants tyle. Al-Futtaim will take over the existing 35-plus Esprit stores
to end up with six or seven stores in the Stockholm area and four or operated in the Middle East and North Africa by the Gulf Coope-
five stores in the area of Gothenburg by the end of 2015. ration Council, with a project to double their number in the next
few years. Al-Futtaim is a big and diversified retail group, based in
Billabong has opened its third franchised single-brand door in Ger- Dubai. It is, among other roles, the master licensee of Intersport
many. Located in Hamburg and measuring 140 square meters, it International Corporation in the region. In India, Esprit has 25
carries also the group's Element line and follows the opening of standalone stores and 39 shop-in-shops.
stores in Berlin and Dortmund. In return, the Australian boards-
ports brand has closed its first and only corporate store in the Terramar Sports, the American producer of technical baselayers,
country. The shop in Munich did not survive for long after its ope- is going to be the new distributor of Bridgedale socks for the
ning in early 2011. U.S. and Canada from next January. The British line has been dis-
tributed until now by Garmont North America, which is being
+++ Xtep, the Chinese sports brand, is opening a store in downtown dissolved. As previously reported, Scott Sports will distribute Gar-
Valencia and three others in other parts of the Levante region of mont ski and outdoor boots in North America from next January.
Spain +++BH is opening its 11th Spanish concept store in Barcelona,
carrying its fitness equipment and its bicycles +++Lafuma has Ricochet replaces Fast as the exclusive French sales agency for
opened a temporary store for its Killy line in the French town of Dainese. The Italian brand of protection clothing and equipment
Annecy +++Patagonia has revamped its store in Chamonix, France for various sports already has ten stores and 400 points of sale in
+++ France. Ricochet, which has a network of about 15 sales reps in the
country, represents also Asolo, Lowe Alpine, Dynamic, Ruffwear
Management & Distribution and Ziener. It has stopped representing Thorlo.
Karstadt has established the new position of chief operating offi- Inside Brands, a well-established distributor of sporting goods
cer for Rüdiger Hartmann. It has also appointed a new chief finan- in the Netherlands, has restructured its activities, splitting them
cial officer, Miguel Müllenbach, replacing the departing Harald into two separate companies. Inside Brands continues to sell Ros-
Frasczcak. They both report to Andrew Jennings, chief executive signol, Tecnifibre, Trezeta and Pro Kennex in the Netherlands.
of the German retail group. Meanwhile, a separate unit has been set up for Under Armour, the
American brand for which the Dutch company obtained distribution
A well-known Cuban-American designer of shoes and accessories, rights in the Benelux countries earlier this year. Inside Brands
Alejandro Ingelmo, has been picked by Dwyane Wade, the NBA also has rights to sell Pro Kennex, the Taiwanese racquet sports
All-Star champion, as creative consultant for Li-Ning’s new Wade brand, in most European countries, with the exception notably of
line of athletic and lifestyle footwear and apparel. Wade is reported Italy, France and the Czech Republic. It currently uses these rights
to be one of the celebrities who have been shopping at the desi- mostly in the Benelux countries, the U.K. and Germany. A formal
13. Page 13 Dec. 10, 2012
vehicle established in the Netherlands a few years ago to manage of the sports clubs with which Kappa was been working in the last
these activities, Pro Kennex Europe, was liquidated in July, so the 34 years, including Juventus and Ajax, had ever terminated a
distribution of Pro Kennex in Europe is now supervised by Inside contract prematurely.
Brands.
The European operations of Columbia Sportswear are recalling
+++ Alan Offenberg, a founding partner of Compass Group rechargeable battery packs that have been delivered to retailers
Management, has been promoted chief executive of Compass to heat some of the jackets in Columbia’s OmniHeat line. While
Diversified Holdings, parent company of Camelbak and other the jackets themselves are safe, it is possible that the batteries may
brands, taking the place of Joseph Massoud who has been on leave lead to overheating the jackets, which could result in burn injuries
since February 2011 +++International Sportswear Company or fire. The technical problem is limited to packs with the serial
(ISC) has become the Swedish distributor of Barigo, makers of number 054978-001, which are being exclusively sold through
watches and altimeters for mountaineers and skydivers +++ Columbia's corporate stores or its factory outlets in Salzburg,
Austria; Troyes, France; Ingolstadt, Munich, Frankfurt and Zwei-
Results & Statistics brücken, Germany; Las Rozas, Spain; and Portsmouth, Cheshire
Oaks and Kensington in the U.K. It only applies to products sold
Rip Curl reports a slightly improved operating profit on a 15 between June 14 and Nov. 22. There is an explanation for the odd
percent increase in its global sales to more than 400 million Aus- fact that the recall only affects these stores and factory outlets:
tralian dollars (€320m-US$258m) for the financial year ended last June Antti Kärävä, marketing director of Columbia Europe, points out
30. A big drop in Europe was compensated by sales growth in other that there the company had already announced a global recall for
parts of the world. Notably, double-digit increases were recorded the packs sold for the autumnl/winter 2011-12 seson. Apparently, a
in Brazil, North and South America, and Southeast Asia. By offe- small quantity of leftovers made it to some of this winter’s jackets,
ring more service and counseling to the customers, the European which were only shipped to these stores.
corporate stores of the brand performed very well in the past sum-
mer and early autumn, the company points out. Their sales rose Crocs has reported victories against counterfeiters in the courts
by 14 percent on a comparable store basis between July 1 and Nov. of Shanghai and Dongguan. Between March 13 and Sept. 27, 18
4, compared with the same period a year ago. The brand probably people were sentenced in the two courts to a combined total
benefited from the success of two important events in which it in- of more than 46 years in prison and fines of more than $450,000.
vested last summer: the Rip Curl Grom Search and the Rip Curl Out of them, 17 people were declared guilty of counterfeiting, and
Pro Portugal. two were additionally sentenced for offering bribes. The 18th indi-
vidual was only convicted of bribery. The criminals were no small-
The share of skiers who wore helmets in Switzerland during the scale counterfeiters: Recent investigations carried out in connec-
winter 2011/12 winter season increased to 84 percent, up from 81 tion with the case uncovered no less than 128,752 pairs of faked
percent in the previous season. It reached the same ratio already Crocs shoes, with a market value of around $9.5 million. Until
achieved among snowboarders. The ratio went up to 94 percent last September, police raids made at various Chinese factories in
among children, but it also grew among adults. According to the the context of 35 different criminal actions, mainly in Guangdong,
survey, carried out by BFU, the overall ratio across all age groups Shanghai and the province of Fujiang, Chinese customs and other
stood at 88 percent among Swiss residents and at 73 percent among authorities have confiscated a total of no less than 600,000 pairs of
foreign tourists. counterfeited Crocs footwear.
After five months of excellent growth in the Swedish sporting goods Quiksilver’s chief executive officer, Robert McKnight, two other
industry, sales slowed somewhat in October. Though positive, sales top managers and the board of directors of the group are charged
growth was only 2.1 percent in October when compared with the of violating a mandate issued by shareholders in 2000 to cap the
same month last year, according to Sweden’s HUI Research. The number of new shares offered under the company's stock option
accumulated sales growth for 2012 through October was 7.5 percent plan at a maximum of 800,000. The Vladimir Gusinsky Living
when compared with the same period in 2011. Trust, which filed the complaint, claims that the defendants have
been issued about four million shares under this plan. Two other
Legal & Institutional top managers accused in the case are Craig Stevenson, chief ope-
rating officer of the group, and Pierre Agnès, president of Quik-
The A.S. Roma football team has decided to break up its spon- silver Europe.
sorship contract with Kappa, well before its scheduled expiration
in June 2017, apparently in order to let in a new unnamed big-tic- Vibram had filed a suit against Fila in the U.S. in July 2011 for
ket sponsor. Observers see a relationship between this move and infringing on its designs for FiveFingers separated-toe shoes
efforts by the new American shareholders of the Roman club, which through its Skeletoes range of footwear. The two parties have
have acquired 60 percent of its shares, to increase its notoriety in agreed to settle the case at unknown conditions, making a court
the U.S. and other countries around the world. The break-up is ruling unnecessary.
marked by bitter overtones as the club's management blamed it on
the allegedly poor quality of some of the jerseys supplied by Kappa. Nike is fighting another battle against Chinese authorities.
Marco Boglione, president of Basicnet, which owns Kappa, said The U.S. company is one of the sponsors of Liu Xiang, the
he was being forced to take the matter to court. He noted that none first Chinese to have won an Olympic gold medal in men's track
