Frasers is set to enter a long-term agreement with wholesaler Accent Group, aiming to launch Sports Direct across Australia and New Zealand as part of its international expansion strategy.
The 25-year partnership plans to establish up to 100 Sports Direct stores across the region, which would increase the total number of Sports Direct outlets by 14 per cent, as reported by .
"Frasers and Accent see a significant opportunity to bring a new and exciting global sports business to the Australian and New Zealand markets," stated Daniel Agostinelli, CEO of Accent Group.
Agostinelli further added that the rollout has key brand support and will leverage the proven operating model, combined capability and global brand relationships enabled by the Frasers and Accent alliance.
Brands to be featured in the new stores include Everlast, Slazenger and Karrimor, alongside Nike, Adidas and Under Armour.
Sports Direct currently operates over 500 stores in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, along with 170 outlets in the EU and 35 in Malaysia.
As part of this partnership, Frasers increased its shareholding in Accent by 14.57 per cent, bringing it to 19.57 per cent.
The proceeds from the sale will be utilised to fund the initial rollout of 50 Sports Direct stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Frasers indicated potential to "explore opportunities in further retail and business segments in future" with Accent.
"[The partnership] reaffirms our commitment to drive growth of the Sports Direct brand internationally and marks a significant step forward in our ambition to becoming the leading global sporting goods retailer," Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, stated.
"Accent has an impressive, well-established platform with various sneaker concepts and a strong distribution of brands. We're looking forward to expanding our partnership," Murray later added.
In turn, Accent Group has acquired Frasers Group's discount online fashion marketplace, MySale, further consolidating Frasers' operations in Australia under the Accent umbrella.
Early trading saw Frasers Group shares climbing by just over one percent.
