Sports Direct Breaks Into U.S. Market With $101M Deal For Stores

Sports Direct "snapped up" U.S. sports clothing and outdoor equipment chains Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports in a $101M deal, according to the BBC. The deal gives Sports Direct "about 50 stores selling sports and casual wear and camping equipment." Mike Ashley's chain said that the "footprint" in U.S. brick and mortar retail would give it a "platform from which to grow US online sales." Eastern filed for protection from its creditors in February. Financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Nicholas Hyett said that Sports Direct had picked up a "bargain out of bankruptcy proceedings." Analysts at Peel Hunt were critical of the deal, saying that they were "rapidly losing patience with the company's lack of ability to stick to a strategy" (BBC, 4/21).