Big deal revealed
JD Sports has snapped up Finish Line for nearly £400m, it was announced today.
Finish Line is one of the largest retailers of premium multi-branded athletic footwear, apparel and accessories in the United States, the largest sportswear market in the world. Finish Line trades from 556 Finish Line branded retail stores across 44 US states and Puerto Rico in addition to a well-established multi-channel offering. Finish Line is also the exclusive retailer of athletic shoes, both in-store and online for Macy’s, one of the US’ premier retailers, operating 375 branded and 188 unbranded concessions within Macy’s stores.
The Acquisition offers the Company the opportunity to expand its market leading elevated proposition into the most significant global market. It immediately gains the benefit of a significant physical and online retail presence and increases the importance of the Company to its major international brand partners. On completion of the Acquisition, the Company will focus on bringing JD’s highly differentiated multi-channel retail proposition to the US market.
Peter Cowgill, Executive Chairman of JD said: “We are extremely excited to be joining up with Finish Line, a well-established US operator. The Acquisition represents an excellent opportunity for JD to establish its market leading multi-brand proposition in the world’s largest athleisure market. It immediately offers a major presence in the US, a clear next step to further increase our global scale. Finish Line has many similarities to JD with a strong bricks and mortar offering complemented by an advanced and well-invested digital platform. We are looking forward to working with Finish Line’s experienced management team to bring best in class retail theatre to the US. Our combined extensive knowledge of the retail market and our product and marketing relationships with global brand partners will benefit our customers, in turn supporting the continued future growth of JD.”
“This is a landmark day for JD and will be transformational for the business.”
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