Sports Direct is the UK’s leading sports retailer by revenue and operating profit, and the owner of a significant number of internationally recognised sports and leisure brands. 

As at 26 April 2009 the Group operated out of 359 stores in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland). The majority of stores trade under the Sports Direct.com fascia. The Group has acquired a number of retail businesses over the past few years, and some stores still trade under the Lillywhites, McGurks, Exsports, Gilesports and Hargreaves fascias. Field & Trek stores trade under their own fascia.

The Group’s UK stores (other than Field & Trek) supply a wide range of competitively priced sports and leisure equipment, clothing, footwear and accessories, under a mix of Group owned brands, such as Dunlop, Slazenger and Lonsdale, licensed in brands such as Umbro, and well known third party brands including adidas, Nike, Umbro Reebok and Puma. Our stores carry the most comprehensive range of third party brands, which are complimented by our own Group brands.  We have the best availability of stock of branded goods compared to other sports retailers and it is this that differentiates us from our competitors.

Our intention is to further grow our specialist areas such as our collection for the dedicated runner whether they are amateur or professional through the online offering of Sweatshop and within our stores through “she-runs-he-runs” areas.

Field & Trek operates out of 16 stores in the UK, selling a wide range of camping and outdoor equipment, waterproof clothing and footwear, including leading brands such as Berghaus, Merrell and Salomon. The acquisition of Field & Trek gave the Group an entry into the outdoor market, which had been identified as a strategic opportunity for the Group.

The Group has retail interests outside the UK and has a flexible approach to entry into markets.  These interests include wholly owned retail outlets in (Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg and Slovenia), joint ventures with other retailers (such as in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) stores within another retailer’s store (as in Cyprus) and licence agreements as in South Africa and the Middle East.

The Group’s portfolio of sports and leisure brands includes Everlast, Slazenger, Dunlop, Kangol, Karrimor, Lonsdale, and Antigua. As previously mentioned the Group’s Retail division sells products under these Group brands in its stores, and the Brands division exploits the brands through its wholesale and licensing businesses. 

The Brands division wholesale business sells the brands’ core products, such as Dunlop tennis rackets and Slazenger tennis balls, to wholesale customers throughout the world, obtaining far wider distribution for these products than would be the case if their sale was restricted to Group stores. The wholesale business also wholesales childrenswear and other clothing. The licensing business licenses third parties to apply Group owned brands to non-core products manufactured and distributed by those third parties, and third parties are currently licensed in different product areas in over 100 countries. The Brands division is closely involved in the development of licensed products and monitors licensees and their manufacturers to ensure product quality and presentation and consistency with the appropriate brand strategy.

The Brands division continue to sponsor a variety of prestigious events and retain a base of globally recognised talented sports men and women. The official tennis ball supplier agreements with The Wimbledon Championships and Roland-Garros are the foremost of these agreements. Dunlop’s professional tennis tour team continues to grow with James Blake being the Group’s highest ranked player. Cricketers Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior are sponsored by Slazenger whilst Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke continue to wear Dunlop apparel in major golf tournaments across the world. Other sports such as badminton and squash also provide opportunities of interest for Carlton and Dunlop respectively.

We will continue to work very closely with our major sports suppliers, such as the Nike Group and adidas Group to deliver the quality that our customers demand.  Also, we will always look for international retail partners and to develop new and existing licensing partners to broaden our area of supply.