Dec 27, 2016

Sports Direct sells Dunlop brand to Sumitomo

Sports Direct has sold the rights to British sportswear brand Dunlop as its founder and chief executive Mike Ashley attempts to push his retail empire away from the discount end of the high street. The Sports Direct business was built on the back of its acquisition of underperforming but well-known brands including Dunlop, Slazenger, Everlast and Lonsdale. Sumitomo acquired Dunlop's European tyre business in the 1980s and already owns the rights to use the Dunlop brand for sporting goods in a handful of markets including Japan. Sumitomo said the move to acquire the branding rights owned by the British retailer would "Enhance the value of the Dunlop brand on a global basis". Sports Direct has retained the rights to continue to sell workwear and safetywear using the Dunlop brand in its own stores on a royalty-free basis and built an option into the deal to acquire those rights for $12.5m in the future.

Read the full story

 Related companies

Make a complaint about Sports Direct by viewing their customer service contacts.