Sport Pursuit, an online retailer specializing in flash sales of branded sports products, has raised £9.5 million (€13.5m-$14.3m) from three equity partners. The funds are meant to support Sport Pursuit's investments to become the leading specialist in this market across Europe. They were provided by Scottish Equity Partners, Grafton Capital and Draper Esprit.
Sport Pursuit is a British-based company established in 2011, with sales of about £10 million last year and growth of more than 50 percent this year. It boasts over 2 million members in the U.K. and delivers to more than 40 countries.
The retailer runs week-long deals from hundreds of sports and outdoor brands, such as Berghaus, Marmot, Arc'teryx and Under Armour. While providing appealing visual merchandising, the store offers discounts from about 40 to 70 percent off the recommended retail price. The deals are exclusive to Sport Pursuit and the retailer pledges to offer the best prices in the market.
Sport Pursuit estimates the European market for clearance of branded sports apparel at about £10 billion (€14.2bn-$15.0bn) per year. Unlike some other companies, it puts its offers behind a member log-in wall and they don't appear on search engines or comparison sites. The company thus argues that it forms a complementary sales channel, with a consistent level of repeat business.
The retailer has already invested in international expansion, launching stores in five languages and six currencies. France, Germany and Denmark were added this year. Foreign sales make up about 15 percent of the retailer's turnover, led by France, Germany, Scandinavia, Ireland and Australia. While U.K. sales are still growing at a rate of more than 50 percent, foreign sales are expanding much faster.
Sport Pursuit acknowledges that it already has many of the fundamentals in place to expand its international business, from language to currency and delivery options. However, it adds that the funds will enable it to grow this business faster through marketing investment and continued improvement and localization of the proposition, on items such as local payment methods and more delivery and return options.
Sport Pursuit ships all of the products from a third party warehouse in Farnborough. It works with a particularly efficient approach to inventory, enabling it to purchase precisely the required quantities. Most products don't even hit the shelves in the warehouse because they're sent out as soon as they arrive. Sport Pursuit argues that this gives brands more control of their stock, while cost efficiencies are passed on to the customers.
Stuart Paterson from SEP and Oliver Thomas from Grafton Capital have joined the board of directors at Sport Pursuit. The retailer's shareholding consists of the three equity partners and management.
