World Cup lifts sales for Sports Direct
Sep 8 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal
NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley's retail business Sports Direct saw sales rise by 9% as World Cup fever drove fans to pay tribute to the England team despite its poor performance on the pitch.
Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, in which Mr Ashley has a 71% stake, said sales rose to £408m in the 13 weeks to July 25, its financial first- quarter, up from £375m a year earlier.
Pre-tax profit increased 17.8% to £185m. The company has performed better than its rivals because of its discount pricing.
Investec Securities said it had expected a profits figure in the region of £165m. Chief executive David Forsey said: “Despite the performance of the England team during the World Cup, these results clearly show that Sports Direct had a good World Cup.”
England, third-favourites to win the competition, were beaten by Germany in the first knock-out stage.
Sports Direct, which owns Sports World and Lillywhites stores as well as brands including Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop, said that since the end of July its performance had remained in line with management expectations.
The company said it remained on track to meet targets for the year to the end of April, although this will depend on economic conditions. Analysts said the strength of Sports Direct’s retail profits came as a surprise given the likely impact on margins caused by stock left over following England’s early exit from the tournament in South Africa.
The Nottinghamshire-based company has more than 350 stores in the UK, the majority of which trade under the SportsDirect.com fascia with others branded Lillywhites, McGurks, Exsports, Gilesports and Hargreaves and Field & Trek.
It also owns a number of well-known sports and leisure brands, including Carlton, Donnay, Dunlop and Kangol.
