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JD Sports offloads non-core premium fashion brands to Frasers Group

Lauretta Roberts
16 December 2022

JD Sports has offloaded a raft of "non-core" premium fashion brands, including Giulio, Cricket, Pretty Green and Tessuti, to fellow listed fashion group Frasers.

The move comes after a strategic review of JD Sports by its new CEO Régis Shultz who joined the business from Al-Futtaim Group in August of this year.

Some 15 brands form part of the deal which were sold to Frasers for an aggregate cash consideration of up to £47.5m. Completion on the acquisition of shares in eight of the divested businesses and on the acquisition of all of the debt owing to JD by the divested businesses took place immediately on exchange with completion on the acquisition of shares in the remaining seven businesses expected in early 2023. 

JD Sports said the move would allow the business to focus on opportunities elsewhere in its group, such as in particular the international and digital expansion of the group’s core premium sports fashion fascias, which include JD Sports, Size? and Footpatrol among others.

This divestment will result in the group recognising a non-cash exceptional charge in its annual accounts for the period to 28 January 2023 of approximately £100 million. 

Régis Schultz, CEO of JD, said: “JD is rightly recognised for its laser focus on the customer and we are convinced that the most significant opportunities lie in the continued international development of the Group's global sports fashion businesses. 

“We are pleased to have agreed the sale of these attractive, but non-core, brands and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all colleagues at the businesses which form part of the transaction for their hard work and contribution to the Group over the years.” 

Brands included in the deal are: Base Childrenswear, Choice, Clothingsites (including Brown Bag Clothing), Cricket, Giulio, Kids Cavern, Missy Empire, Nicholas Deakins, Pretty Green, Prevu Studio, Rascal Clothing, Tessuti (including Xile), Scotts, Watch Shop and Topgrade Sportswear (including Get The Label).

They will join House of Fraser, Sports Direct, Jack Wills, Flannels, USC and 18 Montrose among others in Frasers Group's fast-growing fashion and retail portfolio.

The move will pose and interesting question about how Frasers will manage the luxury boutiques Cricket and Giulio, which would compete with its flagship chain Flannels. In Kingston-upon-Thames, South West London, for example, brand new Flannels and Giulio stores sit just a few doors apart on the town's main shopping street. Meanwhile Flannels recently opened in Liverpool with Cricket set to open a new destination stores in the city early next year.

Main image: Giulio, Kingston-upon-Thames

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