The chain billed close to 15 million euros in its last fiscal year
“THERE IS NO SPORT THAT HAS SO MANY BRAND SUPPLIERS LIKE OURS”
SIX STORES AND 3 PRO-SHOPS After opening a 1,000-square-meter store in Alcorcón at the beginning of October, Tennis-Point plans to conclude this 2022 with six conventional stores. At the moment, it already has one in Mataró, one more in Barcelona, two in Madrid and one in Valencia, to which it will add another one in Alfafar (Valencia) on December 3. It also has 3 pro-shops located in Castelldefels (Sánchez Vicario Academy); Barcelona (David Lloyd sports center); and in Madrid (Race Sports Complex).
“In the paddle there are 80% of the brands of supplier blades”. This is how the current situation of the market for this sport is assessed by the head of Tennis-Point, Miquel Just. The manager points out that in the chain’s last fiscal year they turned around 15 million euros and announces two new stores in Valencia.
The head of the Tennis-Point chain in the Iberian market, Miquel Just, is convinced that “in the paddle tennis market there are over 80% of brands of rackets” and he argues that “no other sport has the number of suppliers that exist in our sport”.
As a result of this excessive number of suppliers and the more selective behavior of the consumer, the manager assures that “at the moment, in the stores there is product to give and sell”, something that comes to second the appreciation that the head of the sports division Head Iberia’s racket player, Ricardo Brigolle, recently declared in CMDsport.
“A TEN BRANDS WOULD BE ENOUGH”
Miquel Just, who acknowledges “not knowing exactly the number of suppliers currently in the paddle tennis market, although there is usually talk of about two hundred brands”, points out that “the ideal figure would be around ten”.
The manager adds that “although the paddle tennis market is growing, it is still limited to three or four countries at most where there is really activity, with which we are in a scenario that is very prone to oversupply.”
COMPLICATED SELL IN BY 2023
The executive already predicts that the sell-in for the next 2023 campaign is going to be “complicated” for most of the brands and that “some are going to have a very bad time.” He assures that “certain suppliers have already begun to verify that in this programming campaign for 2023 many retailers are already making significant order cuts without having realized that, although consumer demand continues to not fall, the behavior of this it has varied and has become much more demanding and selective”.
Miquel Just explains that “in times of product scarcity, the consumer accepted practically anything as long as they could have a shovel when they wanted or needed it. However, from that lack of product there has now been a situation of oversupply. This has meant that the consumer has a wide range of options to choose from, which has made them more selective, more brand-oriented and more rational in prices when deciding on their purchase”.
CONCENTRATION
This sell-in for the 2023 season is going to be the most complex in recent years “precisely because of this growing consumer selectivity that is being abundantly reflected in the paddle tennis rackets in stores”, according to Miquel Just. He adds that “everything is no longer valid. The consumer demands the best positioned brands and dispenses with those that are not. We are advancing more and more quickly towards an irreversible concentration of brands”.
Regarding the imminence of a price war announced by the manager of Head’s racket sports division, Ricardo Brigolle, Just assures that “this phenomenon is not incipient; retail is already involved in it”. As he justifies, “the oversupply ends up generating commercial warmongering and this is further intensified by virtue of the proportion of retailers that enter into a delicate liquidity situation.”
Miquel Just, in any case, does not limit the responsibility of price wars to retail. As he maintains, “some blade brands, seeing that they will not reach sales targets and will need liquidity to be able to meet their payment commitments with their own or sponsored suppliers, will begin to offer ‘special conditions’ to the retailer, with which some suppliers will also promote or will promote this commercial warmongering in the market”.
BARRIER OF THE 400 EUROS
Another aspect that, in the opinion of the head of Tennis-Point in Iberia, will start in the 2023 campaign of the paddle tennis market will be that some relevant brands have already placed the recommended retail prices of their highest-end models above 400 euros. Just recalls that “only two years ago we surpassed the barrier of 300 euros and I think that, despite the current inflationary scenario, proposing now a new jump of practically 100 euros more, raises serious doubts about what the consumer’s reaction will be” .
Miquel Just believes that “this leap can change the market. Perhaps the consumer will accept it; but perhaps not and perhaps this will boost the mid-range that is currently very stagnant. At the moment, I don’t see the consumer willing to admit this increase”.
The Tennis-Point executive reminds providers that “the price is determined by what the consumer is willing to pay and not based on the rise in costs suffered by the provider.”
DOUBLE PRESENCE IN VALENCIA
Last October, Tennis Point doubled its presence in the Community of Madrid with the opening of a store in Alcorcón, in addition to the one it already has on Paseo de la Castellana.
Last week, at the beginning of November (on the 2nd), it signed the acquisition of the Tenis-Point store located in the center of Valencia, which has an area of about 150 square meters. Said establishment already operates under the guidelines of the chain (although not yet under its brand-label).
The transformation of the corporate image of this recent acquisition in the capital of Turia will take place once the start-up of a 700-square-meter megastore in the Valencian town of Alfafar, owned by the chain, is completed, and which is scheduled to open. next December 3.
After these openings, Tennis-Point plans to conclude this 2022 with a total of six offline establishments, to which it would add three pro-shops located in the Sánchez Vicario Academy, in the David Lloyd sports center in Barcelona and in the Club Race in Madrid .
The chain is also considering the launch of two other pro-shops, whose location has not been revealed by Just but which the executive has predicted that “surely, they will not be a reality until next 2023”.
Tennis-Point billed 14.5 million euros in its last fiscal year ending on September 30. The aforementioned figure was, finally, higher than what Miquel Just himself had predicted last July when he pointed out that they would turn 13.5 million euros.
