We Are Padel, one of the largest private centers in padel in Europe, risks closing half of its clubs in Sweden…

Would Sweden be the mirror of the future France of the padel ? The question is worth asking, as we learn that the Swedish franchise We Are Padel (WAP) could close about half of its roughly 80 complexes. In question, insufficient profitability and losses of 1,4 million euros per month across the country, or nearly 17 million per year.

This information comes from the Swedish site Padelfever, and taken over by PadelHigh in English language. WAP employs around 300 people in Sweden, some of whom could lose their jobs. The cause of the financial losses? A supply of land which exploded in 2021, with in particular “public” clubs at lower prices and which are not subject to the same profitability requirements as the private sector. Today, there are approximately 3500 courts of padel in Sweden, one track for 3000 inhabitants! In France, it is rather a track for 50 inhabitants…

Energy too expensive, rents too high

Another blow is linked to the war in Ukraine and the explosion in the cost of energy, most often essential for heating the rooms of padel, in this country where it is very cold. WAP is also in the process of trying to renegotiate the rental prices of its meeting rooms downwards. padel.

Some of the cities where WAP operates in Sweden

We Are Padel belongs to the LeDap group (or Padel in slang). As we indicated in this article, this group operated more than 90 centers and 600 football pitches. padel end of 2021, under the We Are brands Padel (Sweden), Just Padel (Norway), Padel Finland Club, Padel Tampere, ProPadel (Finland), Padel Area (Austria), etc. LeDap even planned to double its activity in 2022, with more than 200 sites and 1700 trails. padel.

In one Facebook post, our colleague Romain Taupin evokes “an earthquake in the world of padel", believing that “competition from public tennis clubs in Sweden has created too much supply in relation to demand”. He sees both “Bad news and good news”, likely to convince “private entrepreneurs that a development of the padel intelligent and grouped, which follows a strict economic logic, far from the fantasies of becoming a millionaire”.

Romain Taupin, Padelonomics

In France, watch out for breakage

The financial setback affecting We Are Padel in Sweden clearly demonstrates that however strong the global boom in padel, its development cannot do without thinking about the number of plots, the places where they are located and the preferred economic model.

With some 1400 pitches today, France is behind Sweden. But given the historical coexistence between private operators and associative clubs – where public money partly finances the infrastructure – it is essential that the FFT and the Ministry of Sports supervise and regulate the future constructions and development of this sport. Otherwise, in France too, there will be damage!

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

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