DW Sports Fitness
| Limited | |
| Industry | Retailing and fitness clubs |
| Founded | 13 March 2009 |
| Headquarters | Wigan, Greater Manchester, England |
Key people | Dave Whelan |
| Products | Sporting goods |
| Revenue | £139.4 million [1] |
| £3.9 million | |
| Subsidiaries | DW Sports Fitness Clubs, DW Sports Retail Stores |
| Website |
www |
DW Sports Fitness is a British retailing and fitness business. Founded in March 2009 when Dave Whelan purchased the 50 JJB Sports Fitness Clubs and the attached retail stores for £83.4 million.[2] At the time all the sites were shared between a fitness club and retail store, with most cases seeing the fitness club downstairs and the retail store upstairs. Since that time the group has grown to encompass more than 60 sites, including stand-alone retail stores and stand-alone fitness clubs.
Retail
Association with Intersport
In April 2011, in an effort to boost the profile of their retail stores DW Sports joined the international buying group Intersport.[3] As a result, the Intersport logo was incorporated into the DW Sports Fitness fascias.
Retail sites
In November 2012, the first stand-alone DW Sports retail site opened at Wigan Grand Arcade [4] in the old JJB unit located on the first floor next to TK Maxx.
Rumours following JJB demise
In November 2012, in the wake of JJB Sports's demise. Mike Ashley's Sports Direct was rumoured to have purchased 60 JJB sites for a reported £30 million,[5] but that leaves the other 120+ stores in the former JJB portfolio. Some reports say DW Sports is not interested in acquiring any further JJB units,[6] whilst others say that they are.[7]
Fitness
New locations
Since the 2009 acquisition and the renaming of JJB Fitness Clubs as DW Fitness Clubs several new gymnasium and leisure facilities have been opened in locations such as; Poole, Liverpool Hunts Cross, Sunderland, Ipswich, Blackpool, Aylesbury and Lincoln. A new gym only has recently opened in Huddersfield.
References
- ↑ "Insider News North West – Whelan's DW Sports limbers up for further expansion". Insidermedia.com. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ Thompson, James (2009-03-26). "Whelan buys JJB's gym clubs for £83m - Business News - Business". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ Goldfingle, Gemma (2011-04-01). "DW Sports joins buying group Intersport | News". Retail Week. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ "DW Sports Opening at Grand Arcade - Wigan Shopping Centre". Grand-arcade.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ Zoe Wood (2012-09-27). "Sports Direct thrashes out deal to buy 60 JJB Sports stores | Business". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ↑ "My sadness at JJB Sports demise - Whelan". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ↑ Goldfingle, Gemma (2012-08-31). "JJB founder Whelan signals interest in up-for-sale retailer | News". Retail Week. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
External links
www