JD Sports' Dutch subsidiary reportedly files for bankruptcy
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Sports Unlimited Retail, the parent company of sports retailers Sprinter, Aktiesport and Perry Sport and the Dutch subsidiary of JD Sports, is understood to have been declared bankrupt, local media outlet RTL Z has reported. The bankruptcy would affect 54 shops and 1,100 employees. FashionUnited has contacted the firm and is still waiting for a response. The bankruptcy has not yet been registered in the public insolvency register.
Sprinter's website confirmed the bankruptcy writing the following:
"At the moment it is temporarily not possible to place an order. Recently the bankruptcy of Sports Unlimited Retail has been declared. This includes the activities of Sprinter Netherlands. The appointed receiver is investigating what future options there are for Sports Unlimited Retail."
Perry Sport and Aktiesport were acquired by UK-based JD Sports, which rescued them from the bankruptcy of their former owner United Sports Group (USG) in 2016. JD Sports paid 26.5 million euros for the two Dutch chains. Both Perry Sport and Aktiesport were transferred to a new subsidiary, Sports Unlimited Retail, which was in turn transferred to another JD Sports subsidiary, Iberian Sports Retail Group S.L. JD Sports already held a majority stake in this Spanish group at the time, and earlier in 2023, the British group acquired all the shares. This meant that JD Sports was once again the full owner of Perry Sport and Aktiesport in a roundabout way.
Perry Sport, Aktiesport and Sprinter: Developments since 2016
Last summer, it was announced that Perry Sport and Aktiesport were being converted to the Sprinter formula. Sprinter is a Spanish sister chain of the two sports retailers. Accordingly, Sprinter's green and white logo appeared on the Dutch street scene. This rollout appears to have been completed recently.
The future of Sprinter, Aktiesport and Perry Sport is uncertain. It is currently unclear whether brand rights are vested in Sports Unlimited Retail or whether they lie with another subsidiary or parent company JD Sports. So the impact of Sports Unlimited Retail's bankruptcy is not immediately clear.
Gerco Vonk, finance and ICT director at Sports Unlimited Retail, stressed in an internal message, accessed by RTL Z, that JD Sports' shops in the Netherlands are not affected by the bankruptcy.