“Customers are returning to the stores. We are seeing up to 20 percent less online sales, this has shifted to the stores,” said Thorsten SchmitzAustrian Managing Director of the sports retail chain Intersport, yesterday on the occasion of the online presentation of the half-year balance sheet.
Many customers would use the online shop as a “shop window” and check the availability of the goods: “Our strategy is to merge stationary trade and online shop.” Intersport, based in Wels, achieved sales of 325 million euros in the first half of the year. That is twelve percent more than in the same period in 2019, i.e. before the outbreak of the crisis. Online sales are in the “mid single-digit range”. They want to close the year as a whole with a plus in the “double-digit percentage range”. 4000 employees are employed in Austria.
Intersport cannot ignore the rise in prices either, “but we try to keep our price level attractive. Our dealers also forgo margins for this.” Customers are willing to pay a slightly higher price for quality and service.
Corona has made people aware of the importance of exercise in nature. This trend continues. Skis (sales, rental) still make up the largest share of sales, and touring skis were also in great demand last winter. This is followed by the outdoor and bicycle areas.
Source: Nachrichten
