Shoppers in Dublin City Centre this morning will find a new 37,000 square foot sporting megastore to serve their every need.
Sports Direct is opening a six floor shop on North Earl Street, off O’Connell Street in the premises that were once owned by Boyers but which was sold last year for €12 million.
The move is similar in many ways to what the company did over a decade ago when taking over Lillywhites, the iconic sports store on Piccadilly Circus in London.
That store had a tradition as sports goods supplier to the Royal Family and extended over five floors of the most prime real estate in the city.
The size of the new Dublin store is similar, spread over six floors and will include fashion brands as well as sports gear, football kits, running shoes and boots and a wide variety of discounted sporting goods.
The market remains buoyant with market leaders Lifestyle Sports and Elverys Intersport both in expansion mode and developing new concepts for sports retailing in city centres across the country.
The new Sports Direct store will stock up to 50,000 individual sports and fashion products and is believed to be the first element of an aggressive expansion plan for them as well.
