Sports Direct Ireland
 | |
_(cropped).jpg) A former Heatons store in Omagh | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Genre | Online retail |
| Founded | 1946 in Athlone |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Clothing |
| Owner | Frasers Group |
| Parent | Sports Direct |
| Website | ie |
Sports Direct Ireland (formerly known as Heatons) is an Irish sports goods retailer and former department store, established in 1946. They specialise in fashion, homeware and sporting goods.
Heatons briefly held a franchise for British Home Stores,[1] and also co-located some shops with Iceland during their first venture into Ireland.
Heatons was acquired by Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct International) in 2016,[2] with Sports Direct having previously owned 50% of the chain from 2010,[3] and having held a 42.5% stake since at least 2007.[4]
Newer Heatons stores have been built with an attached Sports Direct store and existing Heatons stores are being altered in order to additionally accommodate a Sports Direct store. Older stores have the Sports Direct branded as "Sportsworld", a former named used in the UK but which continued to be used in Ireland for some time after.
The majority of Heatons stores (from a peak of over 50) have closed in their entirety to be converted into a Sports Direct store alongside a smaller "Brand Max" store (another Frasers Group brand) selling some of what Heatons formerly sold, as of 2024, Heatons has fully switched over to the Sports Direct brand in Ireland, while the former Northern Irish Heatons stores are now operated by the UK subsidiary.
References[edit]
- ^ "BHS store to open in Kilkenny centre". The Irish Times. 14 February 1996. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Sports Direct to seal €48m acquisition of Heatons chain today". Independent.ie. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ Coffey, Aine (12 September 2010). "And finally: Ashley goes on shopping spree at Heatons". The Times.
- ^ "Annual Report and Accounts". Sports Direct. 2007. p. 8. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018 – via zonebourse.com.