Garant Schuh + Mode, the big buying group for shoe retailers that left the stage of insolvency at the end of 2007, is getting serious about playing a major role in the outdoor business and about establishing international structures that are good for improved purchasing. Richard Brekelmans, who runs Garant’s Dutch offshoot as well as the company’s Fair Play International Sport organization at the marketing and sales levels, told The Compass that all national Fair Play operations will be put under the responsibility of Fair Play International. As of this writing the national entities are affiliated with the national Garant subsidiaries, especially in Fair Play’s strong markets such as Belgium and the Netherlands. Brekelmans says that a company of its own will take over the Fair Play operations by 2010 and will be directed by Brekelmans himself, supervised by Frank Schuffelen, Garant’s executive board member. A common purchasing structure executed by the new centralized Fair Play operations is not necessarily in sight, as of this writing, due to the different needs of the various national sections. The most important tool to push Fair Play forward is the so-called center concept, which targets specialization and a better profile of the affiliated shops, among others in the outdoor sector. In the Netherlands alone, there are currently 19 outdoor centers. In Germany, the first outdoor store was opened this year – not by a sporting goods retailer but a shoe dealer.
