Eight Sport Norge stores will close

The owner behind Sport Outlet and Sport Norge will be closing eight Sport Norge stores. The closure is estimated to affect between 50 and 60 employees.

Sport Norge closes stores in Gjøvik, Hunstad, Kristiansund, Mo i Rana, Namsos, Oslo, Ålesund and at the Sørlandssenteret.

– “This is basically a change of strategy. We want to focus more on the Sport Outlet. The current market conditions indicate that the outlet is a better area to invest in,” says Group CEO Tor Andre Skeie to E24.

Sport Norge has 19 stores. The sister chain Sport Outlet has 71.

– “Sport Norge is a professional sports concept that in the current market has greater competition than the outlet market,” he says.

Skeie does not have exact figures on how many employees are affected, but estimates there are between 50 and 60 at the eight stores.

– “They have been notified that we will be closing, but there are processes that have been started and are not yet complete. When will the stores close, it can be different from store to store,” he says.

The store closures come in the wake of the bankruptcy of Gresvig Group and Birk Sport, in addition to Norway’s largest XXL sports chain struggling with disappointing sales figures and lost market shares.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today