sportFACHHANDEL 02_2018 Leseprobe

2.2018 Stores
Stores | RETAIL | 171
weather does not play an important role for his
sales.“ Quite the contrary, the sales are constantly
increasing, according to him.
Hence, top-quality equipment and excellent service
will become more and more important for the
sports goods retailer and his team (two regular and
a several part-time employees) to stand out from the
competition. Several large players of the sector gave
up the boot fitting business a long time ago and
send customers to him now. “Sportperle occupies
a niche and focuses on winter sports. We offer the
entire portfolio, apart from snowboards,“ Mr Bakos
says. In addition to selected apparel (Rossignol,
Salomon, Peak Performance and Penguin) and
skis (a. o. Rossignol, Dynastar, Stöckli, Atomic),
Sportperle focuses on perfect ski boot fitting
(exclusively of Strolz, but also Lange, Nordica and
Rossignol). Yet, it offers almost each customary ski
boot. “We give a guarantee for the fit of the ski boot
and adjust each shell individually, if need be,“ the
retailer underlines. If required, he can customize
the entire boot with the help of orthopaedists and
last makers.
It is worth the effort. “Our strongest segment is the
ski boot category,“ Mr Bakos reveals. According
to him, the customers come from far away; the
catchment area covers the whole Northern Germany.
Partly, customers from Norway and Denmark
specifically visit his shop. It is cheaper for them to fit
their boots in Germany; and they appreciate the high
quality of the Sportperle. A lot of customers come
due to recommendations, but the internet and
search engines are important too. Under the keyword
“customized boots” and other relevant terms, Mr
Bakos’ shop appears top on the list in the web. Other
retailers recommend him as well. “Above that, we are
the northernmost retailer offering Strolz.“
“We register double-digit growth each season,“ the
committed retailer says. And the season goes from
September to May; the rest of the year, his shop is
closed for summer break. “We are not the only ones
acting like this,“ states Bakos. Nevertheless, his
team takes time for each customer and they accept
that some of them leave the shop after one hour of
consultation without purchasing anything.
“However, most customers come back indeed, since
they appreciate our advisory and want to honour
this – even if they could buy the product a bit
cheaper in another shop, We often hear this from
the customers,“ he says happily.
The business with skis and apparel is good. The
focus is on Alpine skiing. The segments Freeride
and All-Mountain complement the product range.
According to the independent retailer, he focuses
consciously on few brands and the customers
honour this as well. Mr. Bakos isn’t a member of a
buying group and the collaboration with his main
suppliers works very well. “I have no storage costs.
The producer cares for it. I can order on demand,“
he explains. Some brands really stand out in
this sector and he has a profitable and trustful
collaboration with these brands lasting the entire
season. He continues, “This applies to the hardware
producers. The collaboration with the suppliers of
sportswear is more complicated. It is known that
they don’t like producing too many goods in
advance. We have to take what we get from them in
case of reorders.“
He is in the lucky position that the high season
starts only in the middle of January in his case.
Thus, the final sales start not until the middle or the
end of March. Normally, he is not forced to reduce
the regular prices earlier, according to him. “Our
concept is successful, although we have to compete
with the online sports shops. The ski market in the
web has ruined the prices and ski boots are also
affected. However, our customers want good
service. They want to go skiing without having
problems with their feet.“ Increasingly, customers
come back to him after visiting other shops.
Mr Bakos explains, “Other shops notice as well that
boot fitting makes a good living. However, we have
a big lead and the suppliers respect this.“
In the Sportperle, in total four sales persons act on
app. 80 square metres without storage space. There
is, however, an external warehouse. He does not
have sufficient space for an additional rental
business. “Our customers prefer purchasing their
equipment,“ the retailer affirms. Apparently,
Sportperle Hamburg offers the right products in
hard times and the latest idea is already in planning
– an own sportswear brand and he has already
realised the first steps with a producer, according
to the North German retailer. “We plan to offer
second-layers and other base-layers. This means,
functional consulting-intensive apparel for the
specialised trade,“ he finishes.