【By Observer Net, Chen Sijia】According to a report by the UK's Financial Times on August 5, one of the world's largest sports equipment retailers, Intersport, is considering moving its production to China, significantly increasing the share of its private-label products purchased from China.

Under the impact of U.S. President Trump's tariff policies, sports equipment manufacturers such as Adidas and Nike are moving their production lines to countries with lower tariff rates. However, Intersport's new CEO, Tom Foley, pointed out that such production transfers may "place production pressure on markets that would not have otherwise experienced it."

Intersport's main sourcing markets include China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Foley said: "We are not necessarily moving production from Bangladesh to China, but we can do so."

Photo: Intersport Store Intersport Company Website

The Financial Times reported that in recent years, many companies have moved their production to places like Vietnam and Bangladesh. For example, 27% of Adidas' products last year came from Vietnam, and 19% from Indonesia. This has made the production competition Intersport faces in these regions increasingly intense.

Foley said that many big brands have failed to expand their direct-to-consumer businesses to the expected level, and the balance of power in the sports equipment industry is shifting from giants like Adidas and Nike to retailers like Intersport, "their reliance on us has increased."

He hopes to improve Intersport's profitability, increasing the proportion of sales of private-label products in the group's annual revenue from 10% to 20% within five years, "to achieve a strong and sustainable business, we need higher profit margins."

Intersport is a sports equipment retailer headquartered in Switzerland, operating more than 5,500 stores in 42 countries and regions, selling both private-label products and goods from brands such as Adidas and Nike. The company is particularly popular in Europe, being the largest sports equipment retailer in Germany. Last year, Intersport's global sales reached 14 billion euros, but it did not disclose profit data.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535103106011431487/

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