JD Sports Fashion says it has agreed to sell two Dutch chains of sporting goods stores, Aktiesport and Perry Sport, to the Iberian Sports Retail Group (ISRG), in which it holds a controlling interest off 50.02 percent, for £16.5 million (€19.2m-$23.3m). The rationale behind the transaction, which is expected to be completed on June 30, is explained with the fact that ISRG is more focused on the broad sporting goods market than the JD chain, which focuses more on sports fashion.
Aktiesport and Perry Sport operate 55 and 37 stores in the Netherlands, respectively. They were taken over in 2016 and are currently managed by a 100 percent own subsidiary of JD, Sports Unlimited Retail (SUR). With banners such as Sport Zone in Portugal and Sprinter in Spain, the management team of ISRG is better placed to drive growth and high returns for SUR in cooperation in cooperation with their international brand partners , says JD, while pointing out that it will continue to make strategic decision regarding the company’s future. Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD, notes that ISRG’s “excellent” management team has “successfully” integrated the Sport Zone business into its operations.
ISRG made a small profit on revenues of £579.2 million in the financial year ended Jan. 30, with 107 Sport Zone stores in operation in Portugal and 163 Sprinter stores in Spain. The other major shareholders in ISRG, which was formed in 2017, are the Portuguese-based Sonae Group, former owner of Sport Zone, and Balaiko Firaja Invest, the investment vehicle of the Segarra family, which previously had a stake in the Spanish Sprinter chain. JD has put options on their shares. No sales figures have been given for the Dutch retail operations being divested.
According to a spokesman, there are no immediate plans to implement the successful marketplace concept introduced by Sprinter in the Netherlands. ISRG has decided to implement it through Sport Zone in Portugal.
