Frasers Group plc (formerly known asSports Direct International plc) is a Britishretail,sport andintellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chainHouse of Fraser.
The company is best known for trading predominantly under theSports Direct brand which operates both physical outlets and online.[4] Other retailers owned by the company includeFrasers,Flannels,USC,GAME,Evans Cycles,Jack Wills and bespoke tailorsGieves & Hawkes. The company owns several sporting goods brands, includingEverlast,Lonsdale,Slazenger andKarrimor.[5] The group also expanded into operating fitness clubs, launching the Everlast Fitness Club chain in 2020.[6]
Established in 1982 byMike Ashley, the company is the United Kingdom's largest sports-goods retailer.[7] The company's business model is one that operates under low margins.[8] Mike Ashley has continued to hold a majority stake in the business, and his holding has been 61.7 percent since October 2013.[9] It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.
In late November 2006, a number of business newspapers reported that Ashley was looking at anIPO of Sports World International. He hiredMerrill Lynch, who valued the group at up to £2.5bn ahead of a possible flotation on theLondon Stock Exchange.[12] The group debuted on the exchange on 27 February 2007.[13]
By December 2006, Sports Direct had built up a 29.4% stake inBlacks Leisure Group, the owner of Millets.[14] In 2007 Ashley held talks with John Hargreaves, founder ofMatalan on both taking a 25% stake in the troubled retail business and installing mezzanine floors in larger Matalan stores, on which SportsDirect.com outlets could be operated.[15] In June 2007, the company acquired Everlast for £84 million.[16]
By July 2008, Sports Direct was also holding a 12.3% holding in the John David Group, parent ofJD Sports.[17] The stake amounted to 11.9% of JD Sports in November 2013. Sports Direct formerly held 5% ofAmer Sports.[18] In 2012 Sports Direct International purchased rival retailer JJB's brand name, website, 20 stores and all of their stock in a deal for approximately £24m. The deal saved around 550 jobs.[19][20][21][22]
In February 2013, after fashion retailerRepublic went into administration, Sports Direct International bought 116 Republic stores, the brand name and the company's head office from the administrator for an undisclosed sum.[23] In July 2013, more than 2,000 full-time staff were awarded around £70,000 each under the company's bonus share scheme.[24] On 13 January 2014, Sports Direct bought 4.6% ofDebenhams shares. The stock market purchase of 56.8 million shares (worth around £46m) was made without the prior knowledge of the Debenhams board. Sports Direct International stated at the time it intended to be a supportive share holder. The Debenhams board responded by stating they were open-minded with regard to exploring operational opportunities to improve its performance.[25][26] Sports Direct International sold its shares on 16 January 2014, although they took out an option to buy further shares up to a total of 6.6%.[27]
In December 2016, Sports Direct International agreed to sell the remaining international rights to its Dunlop brand toSumitomo Rubber Industries for £112 million ($137.5 million).[28] Sumitomo already own the rights to the brand in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The sale was due to be completed by May 2017.[29] In July 2017, the company acquired a 26% stake inGame Digital.[30]
Between 2013 and 2014, ambulances were dispatched to Sports Direct HQ's facilities more than 80 times, including one concerning a woman who gave birth in the facility's bathroom.[31] In October 2015, the chief executive of Sports Direct, David Forsey, was charged with a criminal offence for consultation failures overUSC staff who only had 15 minutesnotice of redundancy.[32][33] In December 2015, an investigation byThe Guardian found that the company fines staff for late clocking on, does not award overtime for late clocking off, relies onzero hour contracts, and regularly makes staff wait unpaid for a security check at the end of shifts. A union official suggested that these practices were illegal as they brought workers' earnings below theminimum wage. The company responded by saying there were unspecified inaccuracies in the reports.[34] A representative from the charityShareAction claimed that workers are "jeopardising their health" for fear of being dismissed while another shareholder said the company's reputation as an employer was "atrocious".[35]
Late in December 2015, Sports Direct announced a 15 pence per hour increase for staff currently receiving less than minimum wage, taking them above minimum wage,[36] the annual cost of this was said in the announcement to be ~£10 Million (GBP); however it was immediately noted that £0.15p × 37.5 hours × 19,000 staff × 52 weeks = 5,557,500 (~£5.5 million), this and other factors resulted in many (includingUnite) calling it a "PR Stunt".[37] Workers on zero-hours contracts are not included in the rise and neither are those already paid more than minimum wage (management/supervisors etc.) therefore the 19,000 staff above is actually substantially fewer.[38]
In August 2016, Sports Direct Int. admitted breaking the law and agreed to disburse unlawfully withheld wages totalling about £1m to the affected workers.[39][40] As of March 2017, some Sports Direct workers were yet to receive backpay for their time worked, because of a disagreement regarding how contracts changing between employment agencies should be handled.[41] In November 2016, sixMPs from theBusiness and Skills Committee visited Sports Direct, and reported that while there, Sports Direct attempted to place them undersurveillance.[42] In February 2017, it was reported that Sports Direct had failed to inform its workforce of a data breach of their personal information after an attacker gained access to its internal systems in September 2016. TheInformation Commissioner's Office stated it was aware of "an incident from 2016 involving Sports Direct" and would "be making enquiries."[43]
The company announced on 16 December 2019 that it would change its name from Sports Direct International plc to Frasers Group plc effective from 17 December 2019.[44]
It was announced in September 2021 that Michael Murray was to be the incoming CEO of Frasers Group, taking over Ashley's role, in May 2022.[45]
Former Sports Direct International logo
In July 2022, chief operating officer David Al-Mudallal announced in a memo that the company will stop allowing its office staff to work from home on Fridays, as had been practice for the last few years. The reason behind this decision was that many workers did not take working from home seriously enough and were often non-contactable.[46]
In 2023, Frasers Group CEO Michael Murray announced the group would launch a flexible payment service called Frasers Plus. The service would allow customers tobuy now, pay later and earn points for paying through the service.[48]
The service is provided using technology developed byfintech startup Tymit and credit provided by Frasers Group Financial Services Limited.[49][50]
The brands themselves are an increasingly important part of the business, and Sports World International made £10 million, from selling the intellectual-property rights to the Slazenger Golf brand to arch-rival JJB in 2005.[11]
In 2016,Sumitomo Rubber Industries, a global tyre, sports goods, and industrial rubber products manufacturing company based in Kobe, Japan, filed for regulatory approval before thePhilippine Competition Commission in connection with its planned acquisition of Dunlop-related wholesale, manufacturing, and licensing business from Sports Direct International.[53]
Sumitomo Rubber intended to acquire the entire issued share capital ofDunlop Brands Limited,Dunlop Slazenger 1902 Limited, andDunlop Australia Limited, and the Dunlop-related business of Dunlop Sports Group Americas, Inc. which are subsidiaries of Sports World International.[53]The Philippine Competition Commission approved the regulatory filing for the said acquisition. The acquisition allowed Sumitomo Rubber to consolidate the Dunlop brand across various products including sports goods worldwide.[53]
In March 2004, Sports World International acquired outdoor gear manufacturerKarrimor for a reported £5 million.[54]
In August 2005, Sports World International took a £9 million stake and signed a lucrative long-term deal in with troubled brandUmbro,[55] which was subsequently sold toNike.[56][57]
In 2006, Sports World International acquiredKangol for an estimated £12 million.[58]
In 2012,JJB Sports fell into administration and it was announced thatSports Direct International had purchased parts of the sports good retailers assets including 20 stores, the brand, and its website for £28.3 million.[19]
In July 2012, Sports Direct International purchased a 51% stake in retailerFlannels.[59]
In February 2013,Republic entered administration, and was purchased by Sports Direct International. Republic was merged into Sports Direct's USC brand.[60]
On 10 August 2018, theHouse of Fraser enteredadministration. Later that day, Sports Direct International agreed to buy all House of Fraser UK stores, the House of Fraser brand, and all of the stock in the business for £90 million in cash. Prior to the company entering administration, Sports Direct's Mike Ashley held an 11% stake in the company.[61]
In February 2019, the group acquiredSofa.com for a nominal sum.[63]
On 5 August 2019, Sports Direct International purchasedJack Wills out of administration for £12.7 million after winning a competition againstEdinburgh Woollen Mill.[64]
On 24 August 2020, it was announced that Frasers Group would buy "certain" assets fromDW Sports Fitness for £37m, but would not be using the firm's brand name.[65] Also in August 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, Ashley threatened landlords with House of Fraser store closures.[66]
In December 2020,Debenhams announced it was going intoliquidation, putting 12,000 jobs in 124 UK stores at risk unless the administrators could find buyers for all or parts of the business. Frasers Group was reported to be in talks to acquire Debenhams,[67][68][69] though it was later reported that Ashley was mainly interested in using empty Debenhams stores to expand his other chains, including House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Flannels; taking 'vacant possession' would avoid redundancy costs for existing staff.[70]
In January 2021, it was announced that theJenners House of Fraser store in Edinburgh was closing for good and 200 jobs would be lost.[71] In February, Frasers offloaded their 25% stake inFrench Connection.[72]
In April 2021, the group announced it had doubled the hit it expects to take from the coronavirus pandemic to £200 million.[73]
On 1 June 2022, it was revealed that the group had bought the intellectual property ofMissguided and its sister brand Mennace for about £20 million, after they went into administration the previous day.[76]
In November 2022, it was announced Frasers Group had acquired one of London's oldest bespoke tailors,Gieves & Hawkes.[77]
In June 2023, it was announced that the Frasers Group had acquired a stake of 9% inASOS, 9% inCurrys and 5% inBoohoo.com. It had also acquired a stake of 21% inAO World. These holdings increased during the year.[78][79]
In December 2023, the Group acquired Matches Fashion, a luxury ecommerce fashion retailer, for £52 million fromApax Partners.[80] On 7 March 2024, the Group said that Matches would go into administration after continually missing its business plan targets.[81]
In April 2024, it was announced Frasers Group had agreed to acquire theDutch sports retailer, Twin Sport.[82]
In September 2024, Frasers Group made a takeover approach for luxury handbag makerMulberry. The brand already held a 37% stake in the company[83] However, the company confirmed that it would not make a bid for Mulberry in October, and then began making moves to installMike Ashley as Director and CEO ofBoohoo Group.[84]
^Austrian sports chain in a 51% stake was acquired for €40.5m (£34.6m) in May 2013[88]
^Major Baltic sports retailer in which Sports Direct acquired a 60% stake in May 2013.[88]
^High street and internet retailer created from the merger of Sports Soccer and Sports World, and progressively rebranded as SportsDirect.com since 2007 after the company'sdomain name but has now switch back to just "SPORTS DIRECT".[89]
^Bought by Frasers Group out of administration in January 2024, a majority stake was then reacquired by the original founders in June 2024 leaving Frasers Group with a minority stake[90]
£5,426.7 million (2024)[2]
