Who is the Sport Vision group that entered the Greek sports market?

One of the significant and considerable players who have made their entrance into Greece in recent years is the Serbian Sport Vision. The group, which generates an annual turnover of over 1 billion euros, has been organically growing at a rapid pace, sequentially establishing stores and essentially becoming a strong competitor to another sports retail group, JD Sports, which acquired the Cosmos Group and is also expanding rapidly. In Greece, Sport Vision operates under various retail trademarks, each of which embodies a specific philosophy regarding its approach to the market.

Specifically, under the Buzz brand, there are products from major sports retail companies such as Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and others, albeit with more curated collections, with the emphasis on the "fashion" segment of the market. On the other hand, the nameshake brand, Sport Vision, also found on the labels of many stores in our country, serves the purely athletic apparel segment. Recently, another concept named "tike!" with highly specialized sports collections, also falling into the "fashion" sector, made its appearance on Mitropoleos Street in a preserved two-story building. The expansion of the Serbian group in Greece continues, and for a while, it was in discussions with a Greek sports goods chain with the intention of acquiring it. However, these discussions did not materialize.

One of the top five in the European market

Today, Sport Vision is one of the top five sports goods retailers in Europe - among them are Foot Locker and JD Sports, where all three are primary partners and distributors of Nike products. It's indicative that Nike dictates the evolution of the global sports goods market and shapes the dynamics of the businesses that distribute its products, essentially choosing which of them will carry its premium collections, a fact that represents a competitive advantage and a differentiating factor against the competition. On an international level, the Sport Vision group employs over 5,000 personnel and operates in 13 countries: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Founded in 1996 in Bijeljina, Serbia, its main activities are retail and wholesale trade in the sports sector. It maintains a strategic partnership with Nike, New Balance, North Face, Helly Hansen, adidas, Reebok, Under Armour, Converse, Colmar, and Timberland. Sport Vision has its own licensing department with licenses and distribution rights for brands such as Champion, Umbro, Lotto, Ellesse, and many others.

Strategic Expansion Plan in Greece

Sport Vision's strategic expansion in Greece will primarily be based on stores branded as Sport Vision. After all, it is the commercial name with the most sales points compared to other brands managed by the group internationally. Among these are Run 'n More, ExtraSports, Reality, and Planeta; however, there are currently no plans to introduce these brands to Greece at this moment.

Sport Vision's turnover in Greece for 2023 is estimated to reach 15 million euros. By the end of 2022, Sport Vision had 8 stores in the country, and currently, they are nearing 15 sales points in the nation. Recent openings include the tike! in Syntagma, a Sport Vision store that recently operated in Patras, and another that opened in early autumn in Piraeus.