Sport & Leisure
Sport & Leisure covers the business performance, product innovation, and consumer trends driving the UK’s sports, fitness, and leisure retail sectors. This section reports on brand strategy, partnerships, sustainability, and digital engagement across apparel, equipment, and lifestyle categories. Retail Sector’s Sport & Leisure coverage provides insight for retailers, suppliers, and brand managers into how evolving health trends, technology, and consumer behaviour are shaping growth and competition in this dynamic market.
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Mar- 2021 -10 March
Evans Cycles to axe 300 roles
The Mike Ashley-owned Evans Cycles is reportedly set to axe more than 300 roles across the business as Frasers Group looks to cut further costs amid the pandemic. According to The Guardian, store employees will fall from 813 staff to 475, while “hundreds” of remaining store staff are also expected…
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10 March
Adidas reports strong finish to 2020 but warns of Reebok sales hit
Adidas has reported a “strong finish” to 2020, however warned that its profits may be impacted by its decision to divest the Reebok brand. The german sports retailer reported a 1% sales growth on a currency-neutral basis in Q4 to € 5.55bn (£3.9bn). Adidas also saw its e-commerce sales grow…
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Feb- 2021 -24 February
Angling Direct sees revenue soar by 27%
Fishing tackle and equipment retailer Angling Direct is expecting to report a 27% increase in revenue to £67.6m for the financial year which ended 31 January, ahead of announcing its final results on 11 May 2021. In a trading update, the retailer reported a strong performance from its online store…
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4 February
JD Sports raises £464.2m to bolster acquisition plans
JD Sports has announced the completion of the placing of new ordinary shares in the business’ capital, which raised £464.2m for the company, to be used for future acquisition plans. A total of 58,393,989 new ordinary shares in the retailer were placed by Investec and Peel Hunt, at an issue…
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Dec- 2020 -15 December
JD Sports acquires Shoe Palace
JD Sports has announced the acquisition of US-based Shoe Palace, purchasing 100% of both the issued shares in the Shoe Palace Corporation and the members’ interests in Nice Kicks LLC. The total cash consideration for the acquisition is $325m ($244m), which is subject to regulatory approval. Based in California, Shoe…
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10 December
Frasers Group reports 30% rise in half-year profits
Frasers Group has reported a 29.1% surge in after-tax profit to £84m in the 26 weeks to 25 October. The Mike Ashley-owned retail group said lockdown closures across its non-essential stores have resulted in a 7.4% drop in group revenue to £1.9bn. Over this period, Frasers Group’s sport retail business…
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Nov- 2020 -18 November
Halfords profits double in ‘very strong’ H1
Halfords has welcomed a “very strong” half-year of trading, with pre-tax profit soaring 116.2% to £56m in the half-year ended 2 October. The group also reported group revenue growth of 9.6%, and despite the ongoing pandemic, all its product areas and businesses returned to growth towards the end of the…
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16 November
Tribunal reverses CMA’s block of JD Sports’ Footasylum takeover
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has overturned the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) decision to block JD Sports’ acquisition of Footasylum. In its ruling, the CAT said the CMA “acted irrationally” in its decision-making and failed to provide the essential evidence needed to block the takeover. Following this result, JD…
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Oct- 2020 -1 October
Halfords raises expectations amid ‘positive momentum’
Halfords has announced that its pre-tax profit in the first half of the year is now expected to be in excess of £55m, following continued “positive” momentum in its cycling and motoring business. Its previous 20-week trading update on 8 September highlighted an “improving growth trend” throughout the period, reflecting…
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Sep- 2020 -8 September
Cycling surge boosts sales at Halfords
Halfords has delivered a “strong” trading performance in the first half of its FY21, with like-for-like sales up by 5% in the 20 weeks ended 21 August 2020. According to the group, this was largely driven by a larger cycling market, boosted by the “positive impact” from the current staycation…
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