Sports Direct to rebrand to Frasers Group
Sports Direct is to rebrand as the Frasers Group in the latest turnaround plan set out by owner Mike Ashley.
Sports Direct said that the planned rebrand will show that the company is no longer just in the sports apparel market
Sports Direct said the proposed rebrand, which shareholders will vote to approve on 16 December, will “reflect the changing profile and consumer proposition of the group.”
Ashley owns House of Fraser, after snapping it up for £90m in a rescue deal last year, as well as luxury retailer Flannels and Cruise and high street chain USC.
Sports Direct said that the planned rebrand will show that the company is no longer just in the sports apparel market.
“Once solely a leading international retailer in sports apparel, the company is now equally as successful in the lifestyle and luxury markets,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“With the enhancement of its retail proposition continuing to be a strategic priority, the proposed change in group name is central to the focused delivery of the company’s elevation strategy.”
The group-level refresh comes as Sports Direct plots the rollout of a chain of luxury high street stores, named Frasers, which will house beauty, sports and luxury fashion brands.
But the overhaul is a surprise move for the company given just six months ago bosses declared that the problems facing the House of Fraser group were “terminal".
“As we have continued to look under the bonnet as we integrate the business we have found that problems are nothing short of terminal in nature,” it said in a statement in June, as it reported a £54.6m operating loss, worse than the £50m expected by analysts.
Since then, it has begun to close a number of House of Fraser’s 54 remaining stores and has replaced key brands it once stocked with discounted Sports Direct merchandise.
Elsewhere, underlying sales for its namesake Sports Direct chain were down 1.6% for the first half of the year.