Sporting giant heads to UAE

The United Kingdom's largest sporting retail brand is to open four flagship stores across the UAE. Retailcorp, the retail arm of Dubai World investment company Istithmar, has signed a master franchise agreement to bring renowned London-based sports department store Lillywhites to the Emirates, a spokeswoman for the company exclusively told Arabianbusiness.com. Each store will vary in size from 250m squared to over 1000m squared depending on location."This strategic move supports Retailcorp's strategy of becoming a dominant player in the regions sporting goods retail sector," she said.

According to a Retailcorp statement, the business has been in lengthy discussions with Sports Direct, Lillywhites' owners, since 2005 and entered negotiations as a "direct result of its reputation as a powerhouse in the sporting goods market."Since 2005 Sports Direct has acquired 14 leading sports brands, including No Fear, LA Gear, Slazenger, Lonsdale, Kangol, Dunlop and Voodoo Dolls. The British flagship store in Piccadilly currently makes a staggering $2 million in revenue per day."Lillywhites by Sports Direct International, will be positioned as a premium lifestyle brand, offering a superior level of service and expertise with a distinctly higher standard that than of any regular sporting goods retailers," the statement said."The Lillywhites experience will offer a selection of "shop in shop" concepts, driven by a selection of predominantly lifestyle apparel and footwear with a superior technical sports offering. The shop in shop divisions of the store will feature exclusive high-profile international brands including Nike, Adidas and Puma," it added.Retailcorp plans to open four Lillywhites flagship stores across the UAE including a flagship store in the Ibn Battuta mall in Dubai. It also plans to open another three to six outlets across South Africa with an approximate floor space of 1500m squared.Sports Direct is the UK's leading sports retailer by revenue and operating profit, and owns a portfolio of internationally recognised sports and leisure brands. It operates out of 465 stores, 408 of which are based in the UK with the remainder in Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. The majority of the group's stores trade under the Sports World name, although it also owns a number of stores that trade under other brand names including Hargreaves, Gilesports, Streetwise, Lillywhites and the Original Shoe Company.Reclusive billionaire Mike Ashley, who has recently acquired Newcastle Football Club, still retains 60% of the group.Sports Direct International is listed on the London Stock Exchange and recently carried out an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for 40% of its business on the London market. On IPO debut the company had a market capitalisation of $4.2 billion. Sports Direct is currently ranked as the sixth largest sports retailer in the world. Source