Sports Direct shutters eight Jack Wills stores
Sports Direct has announced the closure of eight Jack Wills stores, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The affected shops are located in Marlborough, Derby, Reigate, Rock, Tunbridge Wells, Durham, Kingston and St Albans.
Sports Direct acquired Jack Wills from administration on 6 August, after administrators KPMG accepted the £12.75m offer tabled by the sports retail group. Jack Wills currently has 100 stores in the UK, employing around 1,800 people, with all properties and distribution centres were transferred to Sports Direct after completion.
The fashion brand has experienced a difficult year, after reporting losses of £7.5m for the year to 28 January 2018.
Suzanne Harlow, chief executive of Jack Wills, said at the time: “For the past year, we have been focussed on improving the Jack Wills proposition and the group’s financial performance.
“Despite significant progress, the challenging trading environment led us to conclude that the company’s long-term future would be best served as part of a larger group and Sports Direct will enable us to do this.”
This is the latest acquisition from Sports Direct, after acquiring Evans Cycles earlier this year, and finalising the takeover of video game retailer Game. Sports Direct has been contacted for comment.
