Koll returns

Ex-bellaflora boss joins Intersport

Franz Koll has been a member of the Management Board at 3e since April 2023 and was previously Managing Director at bellaflora.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

A bang for the buck at Intersport Austria: after eight years, Thorsten Schmitz is stepping down as head of the Wels-based retail company. His successor will be former Bellaflora Managing Director Franz Koll, who worked at Intersport from 2009 to 2016.

Until 2016, Franz Koll was responsible for sales, marketing and purchasing as Managing Director at Intersport; the 57-year-old from Leonding is now returning to the sports retailer. Koll, who managed the garden center chain bellaflora from April 2018 to February 2023, will become Managing Director of Intersport Austria in September. He will not only be in charge of the Austrian business, but will also be responsible for the brand presence in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

"Franz is a team player with all the management skills and, above all, a true connoisseur of sporting goods retail. He understands our market and the needs of us retailers," says a delighted Harald Tscherne, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He adds: "With him, we will take Intersport to a new level and gain even more momentum."

Tscherne says of Thorsten Schmitz, who has been at the helm of Intersport for the last eight years: "He has paved the way for the challenges of the future."

Koll is currently still a member of the Management Board of 3e Handels- und Dienstleistungs AG in Wels, where he will hand over the reins to Bernhard Reiter at the end of August.