Britain's biggest sportswear retailer Sports Direct said that it acquired "small stakes" in two U.S. companies, "taking its strategy of buying shares in potential partners across the Atlantic," according to Sarah Young of REUTERS. Sports Direct said that it now holds 11.5% of Iconix Brand Group Inc. and 2.3% of retailer Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. "through a share instrument." The group "appears to want to gain exposure" to the U.S. market, having "previously been focused on acquisitions in Europe," where it runs 257 stores across the continent plus 455 in Britain. The company said, "The main rationale for these stakes is to allow Sports Direct to hopefully build a relationship and develop commercial partnerships with the relevant parties." For years, Sports Direct's "cheap prices fueled rapid growth" but investor confidence in the group, founded and majority owned by Premier League side Newcastle United Owner Mike Ashley, "has been shaken over the last two months by allegations over the treatment of staff in Britain and a profit warning" (REUTERS, 1/13).
