Sports Direct Acquires House of Fraser

Sports Direct (Shirebrook, U.K.) has acquired House of Fraser (London) in a $115 million deal and announced that it plans to keep at least 80 percent of the stores open.

According to Bloomberg, Sports Direct plans to use the company to tap the market’s demand for luxury goods, hoping to turn the chain into the “Harrods of the high street.” To do that, the company plans to play up name brands rather than its private labels. There is also speculation as to whether Sports Direct will combine House of Fraser with another company it holds a stake in, Debenhams (London), though the company has declined to comment on that.

House of Fraser previously announced it was closing stores and filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. A previous deal with another company to acquire the U.K. chain fell through and the company thought it would have to close even more stores.