INTERSPORT International Corporation ("IIC"), commonly known as INTERSPORT, is an international sporting goods retailer with its headquarters based in Bern, Switzerland.
IIC is the purchasing and brand management company of the INTERSPORT group and is considered one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the world.[3]
INTERSPORT has 5,464 specialist stores in 42 countries around the world.[4]
Founded in 1968 in Bern, Switzerland, INTERSPORT grew out of the alliance of ten national purchasing centers to create an international organization around the sporting goods. The founding members were Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden, and Switzerland.[5][6]
During the 1980s, the group expanded its activities beyond collective purchasing and began developing private-label product brands as part of its long-term growth strategy. One of its best-known private-label brands, McKinley, was launched in 1984 and later became a core part of the company’s international offering.[7]
Since its foundation, INTERSPORT has been the official sports retailer at several Olympic Games and has sponsored major sporting events all over the world.[8]
In January 2026, it was announced that INTERSPORT Austria acquired the INTERSPORT Slovenia Group, expanding its retail operations across Central and Southeast Europe. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, brought more than 500 stores in twelve countries under INTERSPORT Austria GmbH, with local management teams remaining in place.[9]
Brands
In addition to offering major sporting brands products, INTERSPORT also owns several of their own brands, which fall under the Private Label Brand (PLB[10]) umbrella.[11]
PLBs offer a wide range of sporting brands accessible to all consumers for their everyday sporting needs such as PRO TOUCH (running & ball sports), FIREFLY (water & urban sports), NAKAMURA (biking), McKINLEY(outdoor) and energetics[12] (fitness & training).
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