Although last year’s financial report has not yet been published, there are several signs that the sports brand 2Rule (pronounced turul) created by the Lőrince Mészáros a few years ago is not doing so well.
Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. recently closed both of its branches, and the webshop is also not working, reports Átlátszó.
“Dear Customers! Our webshop is temporarily down” – this is the message received by those who click on the website of Magyar Sportmárka Zrt., 2rule.hu. According to the information in Opten, the headquarters of Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. in Herzeghalm was moved to the Mészáros center at Andrássy út 59 in February this year. In addition, the company’s two branches in Budapest, Váci út 80 and Ferihegyi út 280, were closed. Both were opened in 2019, i.e. only five years ago.
According to the paper, a new executive was also appointed to lead the company: dr. Anette Vincze, who raised her own daughter, dr. He replaced Klára Enikő Aszalós in the post. Aszalós is now an executive at Testőr Kft. and Testőr-Audit Kft. These companies and Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. also belong to Talentis Group, which is an interest of Lőrinc Mészáros.
Retail sales are suspended
Átlátszó asked the company why the two Budapest branches were closed and how many stores Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. currently has in the country, or if they don’t have their own stores, where/how they sell their products. They also asked a question about webhsop and tried to question the company about who are the customers of Magyar Sportmárka Zrt.’s products; they also noticed that, according to the public procurement database, Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. has not won a public procurement since 2019, and has not even started a single tender.
The communication directorate of the Mészáros Group responded in record time, within half a day, although they did not go into details. As they wrote, “the fact that 2Rule Magyar Sportmárka Zrt. has moved to a new location can be found from the Opten company database, accordingly
the office and showroom have also ceased to exist. We would also like to inform you that our products are sold through sales managers, retail sales are currently suspended, and our partners are mainly large companies and sports associations.”
Hungarian sports brand Made in Bangladesh
The company therefore did not respond to the question of why exactly the branches were closed and why retail sales were suspended. The financial reports for 2023 are not yet public, so it is not yet known whether there is a financial reason for the decision.
In previous years, the company did not do badly: in 2018, they had a net turnover of HUF 168 million, then HUF 400-500 million, and in 2022 they already had a net income of HUF 807 million. As is common for a start-up company, their first year was unprofitable (-127 million forints), but then they first generated a profit of 21, then 108 and 138 million, and in 2022 the company’s profit almost reached 200 million.
TV2 also reported on the soaring Hungarian brand several times, and
nothing proves the successful start more than the fact that three NB I football teams: Diósgyőr, Haladás and Puskás Akadémia in Felcsút, left their previous jerseys behind in order to play in 2Rule in the year immediately following the foundation.
At the same time, there were sometimes problems with the quality of the products, and 444 found only a pair of shorts, a pair of sweatpants and a hooded top in a sports store, which bore the label “Made in Hungary”.
All other 2Rule products were manufactured in China, Turkey or Bangladesh, according to the 2019 report.
(Why this is a problem for the Hungarian economy can be seen in this article.)
70,000 2Rule shirts were donated
In any case, the closing of the branches sheds a different light on the news last summer that the Pro Filii Foundation of the Mészáros Group donated around 70,000 2Rule products to needy young people worth a total of HUF 200 million.
Thus, the noble offering looks more like stock removal.
The paper also asked the company group whether the donation of sports jerseys had anything to do with the termination of the branches.
They received this answer: “As a key player in the Hungarian economy, the Mészáros Group has long paid special attention to social responsibility and philanthropy in addition to its business activities. The Pro Filii Foundation took place in the spirit of this We move together! also sports jersey donation program.”
