The Sports Retail sector in Dublin City Centre appears set for a shake up with news that Sports Direct has bought the old Boyers Department Store just off O’Connell Street.
It is understood that the store will be turned into a sports superstore in similar manner to Lillywhites on Piccadilly Circus in London.
Sports Direct owns a controlling interest here in Heatons and operates 27 stores in the Republic and another 15 in Northern Ireland. It runs over 400 stores in the UK and also owns the Slazenger, Dunlop and Lonsdale brands which are sold through the stores and online at deep discount rates.
Lifestyle Sports has recently made major investments in its flagship stores ion Dublin’s Grafton Street and Galway while Elverys Intersport, once a takeover target of Sports Direct has also invested in upgrades to key stores as the market for sporting goods and sports leisure wear has soared.
All three of the main sports retail groups are privately owned.
Lifestyle Sports reported pre-tax earnings in 2015 that had climber nine per cent year on year to €2.37 million
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