Perry Sport, Aktiesport sold to UK retailer JD Sports Fashion

A plan submitted by British retail firm JD Sports Fashion Plc to take over beleaguered Dutch stores Perry Sport and Aktiesport won approval by the administrator in the Netherlands handling the bankruptcy of their parent firm, Unlimited Sports Group (USG). Most stores will remain open under terms of the deal, and most of the employees will retain their jobs, the administrator announced on Wednesday. It is not yet known exactly how many of the roughly 190 outlets will remain open. Store performance and negotiations with landlords will determine which borderline Aktiesport and Perry Sport outlets could be closed in the near future, USG stated on its website. Some 1,150 people were working for Aktiesport at the time of the bankruptcy, and another 850 at Perry Sport. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) will have to sign off on the JD Sports Fashion deal. In doing so, a large number of employees at the USG head office in Amsterdam are also likely to keep their jobs. The firm has four retail chains in the Netherlands, including the two bought by JD Sports Fashion, with a total of 307 store fronts and 43 shop-in-shops in the Benelux region. Between the stores, its 16 brands, and 33 other businesses, USG employed 2,500 people in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Hong Kong and Sweden. Its Belgian chain, Primo, was bought by UK firm Sports Direct. USG went bankrupt at the end of February, the latest in a string of Netherlands retail sector firms acknowledging severe financial troubles.