Has the selection become poor in April-May? Has the usability of the online store declined? Also, for which fitness equipment do good weather conditions create a particular season? I don’t fully understand the answer. If you have recently checked the pricing, how does that make this season exceptionally weak? If a delayed season is being pushed with discounted prices, shouldn’t that still stimulate sales?
Personally, I don’t view wilderness/outdoor life as a warm-weather season, but more as a holiday activity that doesn’t start as early as May. In my opinion, the start of the season is specifically for cycling, rollerblading, skateboarding, running/walking, outdoor gyms, and football. Personally, I certainly want to test-drive and buy a new bike assembled and adjusted for me. I don’t want that bike in a cardboard box delivered to my yard to be assembled, spending the good weather at the start of the season putting a puzzle together. I also want to actually try on shoes used for running, rollerblading, or football. I haven’t yet encountered a brand’s online store where fitting and testing is possible. Sure, they can be sent home, but sending back 5–10 pairs of shoes is its own hassle. I’d rather march into a store and try different options. K-Group’s stores haven’t negatively stood out in that regard. The selection has clearly narrowed since online stores arrived. But compared to other sporting goods stores, it’s not weak. In shoes, the JD.com store and Sports Direct are in a class of their own regarding selection. But discontinued models shine there in terms of those prices.
I consider K-Group’s bike selection to be quite good. If you’re looking for a low price, you go to Citymarket to get that cardboard box. At Budget Sport, you get slightly better service and a bit more selection. The brands are largely “budget” ones. Then, if you want a higher-level bike, you go to Intersport, and you start finding Nishiki and domestic brands. (Madison, sold by Citymarket, is to my understanding a domestic brand that I think is surprisingly high quality in terms of price-quality ratio. The components are very much the same as Jupiter/Tunturi/Helkama. You might just have to assemble it yourself.) You won’t find any large selections of specialized bikes in K-Group stores (Fatbikes, extremely light racing bikes, etc.).
In my opinion, the selection of sportswear in K-Group’s sports stores is surprisingly wide. That is certainly the most competitive sector.
If I had to think of a reason myself, I suspect consumer caution—people don’t want to buy expensive things. They then buy something cheap from Temu/similar or from Hypermarkets/Tokmanni.