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Sports Direct scores with England World Cup shirts
7 Sep 2010England's World Cup was a flop, but Sports Direct, the biggest seller of the team's shirts, prospered.
In the 13 weeks to July 25, sales leapt 8.8% to £408 million.Profit rose 17.8% to £185 million.
Chief executive Dave Forsey said: “Despite the performance of the England team during the World Cup, these results clearly show that Sports Direct had a good World Cup, although with better team results it could have been even stronger.”
The company, which owns Sports World and Lillywhites stores as well as brands including Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop, said that since the end of July its performance has remained strong.
The shares edged up 0.7p to 114.2p.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley owns 71% of the stock.
Probes by the Office of Fair Trading and Serious Fraud Office into allegations of anti-competitive activities and fraud in the sports clothing market are continuing.
