Before Christmas, a number of store chains ran extensive campaigns to sell off parts of their stock.
But the sports shops are still left with far too many goods in stock – despite the fact that Norwegians made a pilgrimage to the sports shops during the pandemic.
– The sports industry has been hit in the face when sales are no longer going up, says economist and merchandise trade expert Odd Gisholt to TV 2.
He expects a fierce price war for goods when the shops will now have to cut back on stocks.
– When people already have enough skates, skis and sports equipment in general, the only thing the shops can play on is price, says Gisholt.
PRICE WAR: Merchandise expert Odd Gisholt has been in the industry for a long time, and believes that the chains will fight hard for customers in the sports and leisure market in the future. Photo: Aleksander Myklebust / TV 2
Here’s how you can make a bargain
Wednesday wrote The online newspaper that the sports giant XXL has a stock that is over NOK 500 million too much. This is money they will free up.
XXL is not alone in having too many items, and several of the store chains believe that long-term delivery problems are the main reason.
– Goods which, for example, were bought to be sold in spring 2022, did not arrive until autumn 2022, says managing director Ole Henrik Skirstad in Sport Holding to TV 2.
Sport Holding owns, among others, Sport 1, Anton Sport and Intersport.
COMPETITORS: Intersport, Sport 1 and Anton Sport are among XXL’s biggest competitors on the market. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
Because of the delay, they had to buy in even more seasonal goods to get enough of them in time. Therefore, the chains have more of last year’s products than usual, as we approach the spring season.
If you choose these instead of this year’s models, you can save money, says Gisholt.
– The only way to sell them is cheaper, he says.
If, for example, you are looking for a new bicycle, there may be bargains to be found in the future.
– Now the big question becomes, who has the most bikes in stock, and wins the bike battle. I think there will be a lot of favorable prices for bicycles in the future, says Gisholt.
BICYCLES: Bicycles are among the items XXL has too much of. Merchandise expert Odd Gisholt predicts fierce competition for bicycle customers. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
Waiting for price war
Gisholt believes there will also be fierce competition to sell off the typical winter goods before the season is over.
– If you burn inside with large stocks of skis, for example, it will be difficult to sell them in the spring and summer, says Gisholt.
– Consumers will get many good offers in the future, he predicts.
He believes that the chains will largely follow each other in order to be competitive. The smaller sports shops can thus stand out, if they do not join the price race.
– But the small ones have other advantages, where service often plays a big role, and they will probably be able to escape this price pressure, says Gisholt.
He believes the industry has become a little over-optimistic in the “golden age” of the pandemic.
– During the pandemic, it went very well, and some chains thought that everything just went to heaven, but it has turned out that they don’t, he says.
PRICE WAR: Winter goods must be sold before spring arrives. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
“Aggressive” campaigns
XXL has already announced “aggressive” campaigns on individual products they want to get rid of.
– Right now we are carrying out the biggest sales campaign in three years, where NOK 500 million worth of goods are going away. For the customers, this means extraordinarily good offers on a number of goods, says communications director Andreas Nyheim in XXL to TV 2.
He says the chain has sold 60,000 pairs of shoes, 15,000 rackets and 2,000 treadmills since the campaign started last Monday.
PROMOTION: XXL has gone hard in an attempt to shrink stock. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
Competitors, however, are secretive about whether they follow suit.
– We can let them do it, reduce the prices, in some cases, and in others we may choose to follow the competition, says Skirstad in Sport Holding.
For reasons of competition, he cannot go into more detail about which products they will reduce the price of.
– Have you overestimated people’s purchasing power?
– There are delays which have meant that we have received goods late, and in anticipation of goods we have bought in more. So the sum of goods we have bought has become too high, says Skirstad.
– I think everyone has been prepared for the return to more normal times, he says.
Warning
Although in the short term it will please customers that the shops have to sell at discounted prices, the Consumer Council warns that it could be a danger sign in the longer term.
– Seen in isolation, it’s an advantage for consumers, because you get cheaper products, but it’s not ideal for the industry, which is stuck with goods they may not be able to get rid of, says department director Olav Kasland at the Consumer Council to TV 2.
WARNING: Trade director Olav Kasland at the Consumer Council warns of poorer competition in the long term, if the sports shops sell off goods too cheaply. Photo: Martin Berg Isaksen / TV 2
If, in the worst case, it leads to stores not being able to cope, it will be serious for competition in the market.
For example, XXL lost NOK 236 million on operations in the fourth quarter of the year, and had a loss before tax of NOK 488 million.
– I am not sure if it is profitable for the consumer in the long term, because we want healthy shops and a healthy economy in business as well, says Kasland.
