Sports Unlimited Retail, the parent company of sports stores Sprinter, Aktiensport and Perry Sport and the Dutch subsidiary of JD Sports, is said to have been declared bankrupt, Dutch media channel RTL Z reports. The bankruptcy would affect 54 stores and 1,100 employees. FashionUnited has contacted the company. The insolvency has not yet been entered in the public insolvency register.
However, the bankruptcy is confirmed on Sprinter’s website. The group writes the following:
“At the moment it is temporarily not possible to place an order. Sports Unlimited Retail recently filed for bankruptcy. This also includes the activities of Sprinter Netherlands. The appointed insolvency administrator is examining what future options there are for Sports Unlimited Retail.”
The British company JD Sports acquired Perry Sport and Aktiensport, saving them from the bankruptcy of the former owner United Sports Group (USG) in 2016. JD Sports took over the two Dutch chains for 26.5 million euros. Both Perry Sport and Aktiensport were transferred to a new subsidiary, Sports Unlimited Retail, which in turn was transferred to another JD Sports subsidiary, the Spanish Iberian Sports Retail Group SL. At that time, JD Sports already held a majority stake in this Spanish group, and at the beginning of 2023 the British group acquired all shares. This meant that JD Sports, in a roundabout way, became the sole owner of Perry Sport and Aktiensport again.
Perry Sport, Aktiensport and Sprinter: The developments since 2016
Last summer it was announced that Perry Sport and Aktiensport would be converted to Sprinter’s strategy. Sprinter is a Spanish sister chain of the two sports stores. Accordingly, Sprinter’s green and white logo appeared on Dutch streets. This transition appears to have been completed recently.
The future of Sprinter, Aktiensport and Perry Sport is uncertain. It is currently unclear whether the trademark rights belong to Sports Unlimited Retail or to another subsidiary or the parent company JD Sports. Therefore, the impact of Sports Unlimited Retail’s bankruptcy is currently unclear.
Gerco Vonk, finance and information director at Sports Unlimited Retail, emphasized in an internal communication obtained by RTL Z that JD Sports’ stores in the Netherlands were not affected by the bankruptcy
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl