JD Sports has bought an independent designer sportswear store in Leicester.
The national retailer has acquired Wellgosh for an undisclosed sum, according to the trade press.
The shop – which has a store in the city’s pedestrianised High Street and an online operation – has been temporarily closed as a result of the new lockdown.
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It stocks the latest footwear and clothes from brands such as Adidas, Fred Perry, Admiral, New Balance and Y-3.
According to Companies House, JD Sports Fashion Plc took a significant controlling interest in the autumn, and Wellgosh moved its registered office address to the JD Sports HQ in Bury, Lancashire.
The news comes after JD Sports bought US trainer retailer Shoe Palace for $325 million (£243.8 million), last month.
It was part of the retailer’s expansion into the US and it said the deal “complements” the Finish Line shoe-store chain it bought in 2018. JD said that purchase would help to grow its footprint across the US west coast and increase its appeal among Hispanic and Latino shoppers, who form a significant proportion of Shoe Palace’s sales.
That deal saw JD Sports Fashion Plc’s holding company in the US, Genesis Holdings Inc, acquire 100 per cent of both the issued shares in the Shoe Palace Corporation and the members’ interests in Nice Kicks LLC, which is operated by four brothers from the Mersho family.
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Based in San Jose, California, Shoe Palace was established in 1993 by the Mersho family and currently has 167 stores, the vast majority of which trade under the Shoe Palace banner.
More than half of the stores are located in California, although there is also an established retail presence in Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Hawaii, with the store network supported by a developing ecommerce platform.
Last autumn Wellgosh teamed up with sportswear giant Admiral to release an exclusive range which celebrates Leicester’s heritage.
The collaboration pays homage to Admiral’s illustrious past and the city where it all began.
Admiral was founded in 1903 in Wigston, just outside Leicester, by Christopher Cook and Harold Hurst, who, along with a small group of local employees, manned eight machines to create high quality woollen underwear.
Since then, the brand has gone on to gain international recognition and established itself as one of the big players in sportswear, producing premium products.
The new Admiral Sporting Goods Co. – or ASGco. – range pays homage to the brand’s Leicester roots with product names including the ‘Wigston’ sweatshirt, the ‘Aylestone’ t-shirt and the ‘Beaumont’ training shirt.