Sports Direct news and archive

Sports Direct to open Dublin flagship at former Debenhams site

Frasers Group is to open a new Sports Direct flagship store on Henry Street in Dublin. The group will take over a 200,000 square foot space which is currently occupied by Inditex’s Zara and formerly by Debenhams prior to its collapse. Ger Wright, Frasers Group’s managing director of sports, said in a statement seen by Retail Gazette: “Dublin is...

Business

Frasers Group reportedly eyeing new Sports Direct headquarters

Sports Direct is said to be considering leaving its current Derbyshire headquarters as its parent company has reportedly set out major long-term plans. Frasers Group is looking into creating a new global headquarters for the sportswear retailer in the West Midlands, removing the company from its current base at Shirebrook. According to the BBC,...

Business

Former Sports Direct auditor fined for ‘serious failings’

Grant Thornton, a former auditor for Sports Direct, now called Frasers Group, has been fined 1.3 million pounds by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) due to “serious failings” when auditing the retailer’s accounts. The case relates to Grant Thornton’s auditing of Sports Direct’s financial statements for the years ended 2016 and 2018....

People

Frasers Group CEO Mike Ashley reportedly ‘set to step down’

Frasers Group boss Mike Ashley is reportedly set to step down from the helm of the retail empire he founded almost 40 years ago. Ashley is expected to hand the reins over to Michael Murray, who is Frasers Group’s head of elevation and who is also engaged to Ashley’s daughter Anna, The Telegraph reports. It is thought Ashley would then become...

People

Former Sports Direct CEO named MD of Revolution Beauty

The former CEO of Sports Direct has taken up the role of managing director at British cosmetics company Revolution Beauty. Dave Forsey took up the new position in March last year, according to LinkedIn, but the news was only recently reported by The Times. Forsey spent 33 years at Sports Direct, now known as Frasers Group, and became the...

Retail

Frasers Group opens first Frasers store in Wolverhampton

Frasers Group has opened its first Frasers store in Wolverhampton as part of a larger multi-brand shopping destination. Located in the Mander Centre, in a former Debenhams unit, the 34,000 square foot Frasers store offers over 120 brands spanning beauty, fashion, lifestyle, kids and home brands, and also has a restaurant for visitors. The new...

RetailFeatured

Sports Direct unveils first-ever Christmas advert

Sports Direct has launched its first-ever Christmas advert in a bid to showcase what it calls its new and fresh, elevated brand positioning and rebrand for 2021. The UK’s biggest sports and fitness retailer has invested 5 million pounds into its ‘Sports Starts Here’ Christmas campaign, as it looks to demonstrate its “unique high street and...

BusinessFeatured

CMA decision to block JD Sports’ acquisition of Footasylum overturned

The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has overturned a decision made earlier this year by the country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block an acquisition by JD Sports of rival sportswear retailer Footasylum. The CMA announced in May it had blocked the 90 million pound deal after finding it would result in “substantial lessening of...

Retail

Frasers Group to open ‘game-changing’ multi-brand store

Frasers Group has announced it is to open a ‘game changing’ multi-brand store in Portsmouth on Saturday as part of its ongoing elevation strategy. The 51,000-square-foot space, situated in the Cascades Shopping centre, will be the group’s first to house a Sports Direct, USC, Evans, Game as well as a Belong Gaming Arena all under one roof. The...

Business

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley ‘deeply' sorry for Covid-19 response, offers support to NHS

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has said he is “deeply apologetic” for his company’s earlier efforts to keep stores open amid the country’s lockdown and has offered to help the NHS during the pandemic. On Monday evening, prime minister Boris Johnson announced the immediate closure of all ‘non-essential’ stores across the country - including...

Business

Sports Direct withdraws EBITDA growth guidance

Frasers Group has announced that its board expects COVID-19 to cause significant disruption to the business, including reducing customer footfall and therefore expects that the group will not achieve the range of guidance of 5 to 15 percent EBITDA growth for the financial year ending April 26, 2020. The company said in a statement that it has...

Business

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquires 12.5 percent share in Mulberry

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, formerly known as Sports Direct, has announced it has acquired a 12.5 percent share in luxury British handbag label Mulberry as the group moves forward with plans to become more upmarket. Though a price for the deal wasn’t disclosed, based on Friday’s share price when the transaction was made, the stake is worth...