Following its recent acquisition of U.S. footwear retailer DLTR and a 60 percent stake in Polish retailer Marketing Investment Group S.A., JD Sports Group has acquired a British upstart.
According to documents filed with the British government, JD Sports took a controlling interest in Oi Polloi earlier this year. Founded in 2002, the youth-centric seller of brands including Lacoste, Mammut, Levi’s, Danner and Johnstons of Elgin operates an e-commerce shop and a Manchester boutique, which JD Sports acquired for an undisclosed sum.
Neither representatives from Oi Polloi nor JD Sports responded to a request for comment.
JD Sports in January confirmed that it was in the process of fundraising to prepare for additional strategic deals. The raise was expected to replace the $325 million in cash it spent to acquire American shoe retailer Shoe Palace in December.
When the company reported its $495 million DLTR transaction in February, Peter Cowgill, JD Sports’ executive chairman, said the deal would enhance the JD Sports’ presence in the northeastern U.S., marking “another important step in the Group’s evolution.” Acquiring Finish Line gave the firm an avenue into the U.S. DLTR’s footprint in the densely populated northeastern U.S. complements where JD and Finish Line already operate, and adds to the West Coast presence commanded by Shoe Palace.
When the deal for MIG, expected to close before the end of the month, goes through, JD Sports’ stake will further build on the firm’s international strategy, according to Cowgill. MIG sells wide range of sports fashion footwear, apparel and accessories from leading global brands, mostly under the Sizeer and 50 Style nameplates.
JD Sports last month reported profit of 324.0 million pounds ($457.9 million) on revenue of 6.17 billion pounds ($8.47 billion) for the year ended Jan. 30, 2021.
Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.