Intersport

"Normally, even a composition would have meant the end of the line, as it is rare for a brand to survive such a cold shower without receiving negative feedback from consumers. However, that did not happen for the Molde company. The demand for Frank Shorter apparel just continued to rise, and orders poured in. Bjørn Rune Gjelsten felt the optimism returning. It was like in the ski tracks – when he felt it was going well, the energy came by itself. It was a hectic spring. The owners signed contracts with local agents in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In Norway, they entered the Intersport chain with both summer and winter clothing. Just a few days after the creditors forgave the debt, GN was ahead of its budget. Now everything indicated that they would manage sales of six million kroner in 1984, they concluded at the end of April. There was much better order within the ranks internally as well. The experienced bankruptcy attorney and Reksten-hunter Jens Kristian Thune took over as chairman of the board, and he taught the newly graduated sprouts a trick, namely to have export orders guaranteed through the Guarantee Institute for Export Credits (GIEK). They were not going to take any more hits."

"The lightning attack on Intersport in the fall of 1993 is a classic Røkke operation. With a store sale of over 650 million kroner, Intersport was the major competitor to Røkke's sports chain, Gresvig. At the same time, many of Intersport's stores were faltering, and the chain was struggling financially. The chain was, in short, a tempting target, and Gresvig sat like a vulture waiting for the right moment to strike. In this situation, Kjell Inge Røkke makes two ruthless moves; he contacts Intersport’s CEO, Erik Myhren, and offers him an enticing financial proposal. At the same time, he tempts Intersport’s most important member, sports store owner Tommy Bøhmer, to switch over to Gresvig with his seven very profitable stores in Oslo. Intersport's board is completely unaware of the brutal attack. It happens quickly, decisively, and in complete secrecy. The next thing that happens is that Tommy Bøhmer accepts the offer. Then, Intersport director Erik Myhrer sends a letter to all the stores in the Intersport chain advising them to switch over to Gresvig. The director's game behind the backs of his own owners explodes like a bomb in Intersport's board. Røkke has managed to create unrest in the ranks, and now he is making his next move: He offers all store owners 100,000 kroner in transfer sums. At the same time, he promises to lift them out of a significant debt of 57 million kroner that everyone is responsible for at the chain's headquarters. Touché!"

"In 2019, Signa acquires the retailer SportScheck from the Otto Group. The idea had been to merge Karstadt Sports and SportScheck as a counterforce to Decathlon and Intersport. They believed Benko could do it, says a participant from back then. As a dowry, Otto gives Signa a buyer loan, a double-digit million amount, for which Signa Holding and Signa Retail guarantee."