The Bull Ski & Kayak team worked day, night and weekends to manage to take out all the orders. Now CEO Olav Øverli hopes for zero growth in 2024.
DISCRIMINANT CUSTOMERS: If you walk into a Bull Ski & Kayak shop, you must be able to expect expertise “that is completely beyond”, according to general manager Olav Øverli. They couldn’t do that in alpine skiing, and therefore cut the sport out completely. Photo: Gustav Brandbyge / Bull Ski & KayakPublished: Published:
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Public transport is suspended and employees are encouraged to work from home. The winter has been cold and it has been white. For some it has been exceptionally good.
– Money has snowballed, says Olav Øverli.
He is the general manager of Bull Ski & Kayak, a small sports chain in Bærum and west Oslo that targets the extra interested. Those who want to “push” on Birken or just be sure to have exactly the right equipment for the field trip.
– I am constantly surprised by how eager people are. Norwegians must have quality. Not quite what it will cost, but… Yes, it probably helps that we are where we are.
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– We have tried everything we can
Bull has a history going back to 1974, then with a focus on selling kayaks. They have since expanded to include skiing, cycling and running.
– But we’ve messed around a bit, that is. Many years ago we were part of Intersport and dreamed of becoming a full range store. We did not succeed in that at all. Because if you join Bull, you must be able to expect competence that is completely beyond. We tried alpine skiing, because many of us are interested ourselves, but we couldn’t do it. Customers are so picky when they come to us. So now we are back to our roots, says Øverli.
NICHE INVESTMENT: – Strangers like us, who stick to the niches we can, we survive. And some of us make money, says Øverli. Photo: Gustav Brandbyge / Bull Ski & Kayak
The company has experienced strong growth in recent years. As is well known, the pandemic years were golden for the entire industry, but for Bull it has only continued.
Last year’s turnover was NOK 163 million, a growth of over 30 per cent from the previous year. Øverli himself had not thought so.
– At the start of 2023, we saw that the year was going to be difficult. XXL is struggling and has had massive campaigns. They are so large that there will be tremendous price pressure in the industry. With poorer margins, we thought we had to increase turnover to be able to cover our expenses. So we’ve tried everything we can.
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Too many arms and legs
The strategy was to get through the year.
– But we increased more than expected, so in the autumn we turned the tap back on and got the margins up. We earned almost all of our profits in the fourth quarter.
The unaudited result shows a profit of 5.3 million before tax.
The weather should have its share of the credit, Øverli points out. And then there has been a lot of hard work. Too much, he admits.
– Increasing by ten percent is manageable, but 30 percent is far too much. There will be too many arms and legs. We are not equipped for that. So I’m almost hoping we don’t grow anything in 2024 so we get back in control. Because now we can’t take it anymore.
At times it has been work around the clock to pack goods for the online store, including weekends, says Øverli.
– Then we won’t have time to land and evaluate either.
– Then there are probably some who think that we are not aggressive. That we should have the ambition to increase by 30 per cent this year as well. But to be honest, there are a lot of tired employees now, and then we don’t dare to hire a bunch of people, because suddenly something happens.
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– Then the customer sees through you
A growth of 30 percent, together with the company’s second highest result ever, is better than most others in the sports industry.
Pending the Sports Industry Association’s update for the fourth quarter, this is the conclusion for the first nine months of 2023:
2.5 per cent decline in turnover for the large chains, corresponding to a loss of income of NOK 250 million. Since XXL is listed on the stock exchange and presents figures every quarter, it is easy to conclude that they are the biggest contributors. The chain had a turnover of NOK 350 million less in the first three quarters compared to 2022.
– This means that there are many others in the sports industry who have not done so badly in terms of sales, says Trond Evald-Hansen of the Sports Industry Association.
CLEAR CONCEPT: If you are neither a specialist nor cheap, things can quickly go wrong, according to Trond Evald-Hansen of the Sports Industry Association. Photo: Sports industry association
He believes that he has an insight into what characterizes those who do well during the day.
– Those who are clear about their concepts succeed. Either if you are very cheap, or if you focus on narrower segments. At Bull Ski & Kayak, it’s all about endurance training. Customers know what they are getting.
The accident occurs as soon as you start messing with neither being cheap nor being a specialist, he says.
– Then the customer sees through you.
2024-02-04 13:26:46
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