The UK sports retail group is running a two-brand Nordic strategy – XXL as the volume operator, Sports Direct as its elevated format – after acquiring the region’s largest retailer last year.
Frasers Group has opened its first Sports Direct store in the Nordic region, launching a two-floor, 30,000 sq. ft flagship at Helsinki Citycenter Mall on May 29, 2026.
The store carries a broad brand assortment across men’s, women’s and kids’s apparel. It features Sports Direct’s Running, Football and Outdoor Concepts, plus a dedicated bike zone with a workshop offering servicing and repairs, a deliberate nod to Finland’s strong outdoor sports culture. A USC section, Frasers’ premium lifestyle retail format, rounds out the offer with fashion and footwear from HUGO and Lacoste.
The Helsinki opening is the first physical move in the Nordics under the Sports Direct banner since Frasers Group acquired XXL, the region’s largest sports retailer, in the summer of 2025. XXL operates more than 80 stores across Norway, Sweden and Finland and holds the largest online sports retail platform in the Nordics. With both chains now active in the region, Frasers is operating a two-tier format strategy: XXL as the established volume player, Sports Direct as an elevated, experience-led proposition aimed at capturing a different segment of the same market.
The opening executes on Frasers’ Elevation Strategy, the multi-year program through which CEO Michael Murray has been converting the group’s estate from discount-led to premium experiential. The Nordics represent a credible testing ground. Consumer spending on outdoor and sport in Finland, Norway and Sweden is among the highest per capita in Europe, and XXL’s network gives Frasers existing supplier relationships and logistics infrastructure to leverage.
