Pursuant to the transaction, Sports Direct has acquired “all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all of the stock in the business”, it said in a press release.
Commenting on the acquisition, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said, “This is a critical period for the retail industry, caused by a perfect storm of pressures including rising costs and new technology changing how people shop.”
“How much more news like this will it take before the government acts to support retailers by cutting the business rates bill?” she questioned in a press release.
“A two-year freeze in rates increases would be a good place to start,” she suggested.
For the year ended January 28, 2017, the department store company—House of Fraser group—had gross assets of £946.3 million and made £14.7 million net profit. (RKS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India