Power play for the double X
Sports Retail: SportXX, the Migros specialty retail chain, is the first in the industry to establish a consistent, nationwide brand image.
Sports retail The Migros SportXX chain of specialist stores is the first in the industry to establish a uniform image throughout the country. The Olympic flame in Athens has gone out, and Head of Mission Werner Augsburger takes stock of the 2004 Olympics for the Swiss delegation: "With five medals, we have achieved our goal." The athletes' sponsors are probably less satisfied, as this year's haul at the Games was much more modest than in Sydney or Atlanta. Sports retailers can take a more sporting approach to the mixed performances of our top athletes. Their performance has hardly any influence on the course of business. On the contrary. Neither the economy nor the consumer sentiment index have had any impact on the sports industry in recent years. According to ASMAS, the Swiss Sports Retail Association, the growth rate - in contrast to the rest of the retail trade - has been clearly positive for several years at three to five percent and broke through the CHF 2 billion sales barrier in 2003, excluding bicycles. "Sport and body awareness have become more important in society", comments Claude Benoit, ASMAS President, on the market development. Kurt Meister, sports market expert at the market research institute IHA-GfK, sees the "young old" as a growing and sporty target group that is in a very good financial position.
However, another trend has also contributed to the increase. "We have noticed that everyday clothing and fashion are becoming increasingly sporty." Indeed, while many fashion stores and departments can only keep customers happy with price promotions, they are increasingly stocking up on outfits and shoes in sports stores, flagship stores and specialist sports stores. One of the latter, and therefore one of the winners, is the Migros SportXX chain, which launched five years ago with six stores and now operates 32.
As the network is to be expanded throughout Switzerland with two openings in the fall and five planned next year, but the level of awareness is only high locally and is only 23 percent nationally, the communication managers have deviated from the local strategy. The plan is to almost double this rate within a year, according to Rolf Mathys, Head of Marketing at SportXX. In order to achieve the high like-for-like growth of eight percent, it has so far been sufficient to publicize the locations, specialist expertise and the wide range of brands.
Skiing over desert sand
Despite the strategic shift towards a national presence, the Migros subsidiary remained true to its in-house agency Inhalt & Form, which managed to create two half-minute TV commercials from a mix of image and sales - one for the warm season and one for the cold season. The connecting element in both is the tracks that the athletes leave behind with their respective equipment - from bikes to carving skis - on the breathtaking dune landscape: a large-format X that is projected onto the logo of the sports retail chain. In contrast to the cinema version, the TV commercials each contain two tag-ons to promote certain offers. The existing poster motif, the print inserts and the broad sponsorship portfolio are also used.
Image building with TV commercials: SportXX wants to expand further in the dynamic Swiss sports market.
Luca Aloisi
However, another trend has also contributed to the increase. "We have noticed that everyday clothing and fashion are becoming increasingly sporty." Indeed, while many fashion stores and departments can only keep customers happy with price promotions, they are increasingly stocking up on outfits and shoes in sports stores, flagship stores and specialist sports stores. One of the latter, and therefore one of the winners, is the Migros SportXX chain, which launched five years ago with six stores and now operates 32.
As the network is to be expanded throughout Switzerland with two openings in the fall and five planned next year, but the level of awareness is only high locally and is only 23 percent nationally, the communication managers have deviated from the local strategy. The plan is to almost double this rate within a year, according to Rolf Mathys, Head of Marketing at SportXX. In order to achieve the high like-for-like growth of eight percent, it has so far been sufficient to publicize the locations, specialist expertise and the wide range of brands.
Skiing over desert sand
Despite the strategic shift towards a national presence, the Migros subsidiary remained true to its in-house agency Inhalt & Form, which managed to create two half-minute TV commercials from a mix of image and sales - one for the warm season and one for the cold season. The connecting element in both is the tracks that the athletes leave behind with their respective equipment - from bikes to carving skis - on the breathtaking dune landscape: a large-format X that is projected onto the logo of the sports retail chain. In contrast to the cinema version, the TV commercials each contain two tag-ons to promote certain offers. The existing poster motif, the print inserts and the broad sponsorship portfolio are also used.
Image building with TV commercials: SportXX wants to expand further in the dynamic Swiss sports market.
Luca Aloisi
