GANDT Fireside Chat #053 | Intersport combines online shopping and local commerce

True to our motto “Working Out Loud”, we at GANDT Ventures exchange our thoughts and ideas on current news topics in the world of online marketing, digital retail, and e-commerce. This helps us uncover opportunities that can be used for companies and our clients as part of our daily business.

But most of all, it is a lot of fun and a great way to share knowledge.
Our podcast-style chats are available to anyone who is interested to find out more about what Google, Facebook, Amazon and the likes are up to.

New e-commerce model from Intersport

Intersport is the largest group of sports retailers in the world, with around 1,500 specialist dealers in Germany alone.

Now the dealer association wants to use its unique position and, with an innovative e-commerce model, include stationary retail in the online business according to the so-called “playmaker principle”.
In concrete terms, this means that online orders are distributed to local shops according to the playmaker principle – i.e. from a central location – from where the items reach the customer in the shortest possible way.

So when a customer orders an item online on www.intersport.de, Intersports Merchandise Management ROQQIO Commerce Cloud determines where the selected item is in stock in the nearest retailer or warehouse in the backend. From there, the goods are transported to the customer on a sustainable and shortest route.

In addition to 500 pick-up stations and free shipping, the customer also has the possibility to return the goods in every Intersport store.

Benefits of this concept

Local traders can participate in e-commerce and technical effort without investment. In addition, online marketing measures, customer allocation and the provision of shipping material are taken over entirely by Intersport.
This model provides the local retailer with an additional sales channel and, in order to increase the individual discoverability, the shops also receive their own landing page.

The Federal Cartel Office has already confirmed this new Intersport model, so we are curious to see how the implementation of this omni-channel approach will develop.

Agenda | GANDT Fireside Chat Video #053