The British sports and fashion retailer Frasers wants to take over the German chain SportScheck including all its branches. The company is expanding in the European sporting goods business.
The traditional sporting goods seller SportScheck is expected to be part of the British retail chain Frasers from next year. According to the company, the company has agreed on a takeover with the previous owner, Signa Retail.
This means that the German chain will once again change ownership within a few years. The company was founded in 1946 by Otto Scheck and was fully part of the Otto Group from 1991 onwards. It was only a good three years ago that Signa Retail, the department store division of the Austrian real estate investor Rene Benko, took over Galeria Kaufhof in 2018 and then merged with Karstadt. The department store chain had to file for bankruptcy a year ago.
Fraser wants to invest
The SportScheck chain achieves around 350 million euros in sales per year with its 34 branches in city centers. Nothing was initially known about the purchase price. British billionaire Mike Ashley is behind Frasers. “The acquisition enables Frasers to expand its presence in Germany, one of the largest sporting goods markets in Europe,” said the British company. SportScheck is a big step for Frasers on the way to becoming the largest sports retailer in Europe.
The new owner wants to invest in the store concepts, in the online business and in relationships with brand manufacturers. Frasers referred to the partnership between its sports chain Sports Direct and market leaders Nike and Adidas. According to the statement, Adidas boss Björn Gulden promised Frasers the support of the Franconian sporting goods giant.
Benko wants to get rid of unprofitable daughters
The competition authorities still have to approve the takeover. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2024, the statement said.
The real estate investor Benko only withdrew his commitment to an equity injection of 150 million euros from the online sporting goods retailer Signa Sports United on Monday. The company took Benko public on the New York Stock Exchange two years ago. Signa Sports is to close unprofitable subsidiaries after increasing losses. The company also includes the British bicycle online retailer Wiggle and brands such as Tennis-Point, Fahrrad.de and Outfitter.