Mike Ashley likes to go for struggling retail operations, despite his fiasco with his investments in Debenhams and House of Fraser. His company, Sports Direct International, has acquired the brand and other assets of Jack Wills, a British chain of upscale fashion stores catering to young people, for £12.75 million (€13.8m-$15.4m). SDI is reportedly assessing the opportunity to take over Jack Wills' international operations, which include stores in the Middle East, the Far East and the U.S. Many of Jack Wills' 100-odd stores in the U.K. and Ireland are located in expensive university and market towns. In the year ended in January 2018, Jack Wills had gross assets of £98.9 million (€106.7m-$119.3m) and made an operating loss of £14.2 million (€15.3m-17.1m) before exceptional items.

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