Winter Business Is Booming
Intersport Posts Record Sales and Cuts Jobs
The Wels-based sporting goods retailer benefited from this year’s World Cup, but e-bikes and winter gear are also booming. As a result, sales in Austria rose to a record 690 million euros. Nevertheless, staff were laid off due to rising costs.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen The Wels-based sporting goods retailer Intersport increased its Austria-wide sales by six percent to 690 million euros in the fiscal year just ended. “That’s a record,” says Managing Director Franz Koll.
Koll cites three main reasons for the growth. First, the winter business performed very well, with an 11 percent increase. The second growth driver was e-bikes—“53 percent of the bicycles sold are e-bikes,” according to Koll. And third, this year’s World Cup fueled sales of team sports equipment.
Internal Cost-Cutting Program
Despite this growth, the market leader—with its approximately 280 locations throughout Austria—has implemented an internal efficiency program over the past two years. “Because the markets are dynamic, costs have risen exorbitantly, and bureaucracy was overwhelming,” Koll explains. Among other things, digitization has accelerated processes. Staff reductions at the headquarters in Wels were also part of the program. Intersport has cut a “double-digit” number of jobs—Koll does not specify the exact number. Currently, 323 employees work at headquarters, and there are 3,600 across Austria.
Brick-and-mortar retail remains central
Overall, Intersport sees itself as well-positioned for further growth. The logistics center in Wels, recently expanded to 40,000 square meters, is expected to help in this regard; it supplies stores in Austria and other countries.
It’s also interesting to note that although online sales have increased by a third, Intersport still generates more than 90 percent of its revenue in its brick-and-mortar stores.
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