Lifestyle Sports is a chain of sports shops in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic.
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Lifestyle Sports was established in 1979 in the Republic of Ireland by Quinnsworth, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods.[1] In 1997 it was bought by Tesco plc but was later demerged via a management buy-out of seven directors, lead by MD Andrew Sharkey, and the venture capital company, ACT.
In November 2005, it was acquired by Stafford Holdings - an Irish family-owned company. At the time, Stafford Holdings said that,
"this latest acquisition is in line with its stated strategy of seeking acquisition opportunities in new sectors which offer strong growth potential, while maintaining a strong commitment to its current portfolio of businesses."[2]
In 2006, former Dunnes Stores senior director Eoin McGettigan was appointed as CEO.[3] Mark Stafford took up the role of chairman.
In early 2009, Mark Stafford replaced McGettigan as CEO of Lifestyle Sports taking over the day to day running of the company. He was joined by former Nike Ireland General Manager, Nigel Cowman, as Finance Director and Dan Ryan, ex Penneys and Brown Thomas, as Trading Director.
The company has over 70 stores on the island of Ireland, plus more in the Czech Republic. It hopes to expand into mainland UK in the future. It is currently the largest sporting retailer in Ireland, and is a common name to be found in many shopping centres and on many high streets throughout the island. Lifestyle Sports, along with Adidas are the main sponsors of the Dublin Marathon.[4]
In September 2007 a new flagship store opened in the Blanchardstown Retail Park, Dublin. This is currently their largest store, with 21,000 square feet.[5]
In February 2009 the Tullamore shop shut down because a new shopping centre is to be built on the site. This caused controversy as the project still hasn't received full planning permission.[6]
In the current climate, the chain appear to be trading well with 6 new stores opened at the end of 2008 and refurbishments underway in their Mary Street and Tallaght branches amongst others.[7]