SUPERGROUP EYES FITNESS FANS IN FASHION DRIVE

SUPERGROUP has announced plans to launch a chain of stand-alone sportswear stores as the fashion retailer looks to cash in on the lucrative fitness market.

The company, which is behind the Superdry brand, said it will open Superdry Sport stores to accelerate its ‘global lifestyle’ strategy.

The first Superdry Sport franchise will be in Grenoble, France, opening in October, and the group plans four more stores by Christmas before more openings next year. Super- Group pointed to its two largest markets for sport, the UK and Germany, at £7.2bn and £8.6bn respectively.

The world’s largest market for sportswear overall is the United States at £79.6bn. The US is one of SuperGroup’s ‘development markets’.

SuperGroup made the announcement alongside full-year results, which saw the company report a 53.1pc rise in pre-tax profits to £84.8m for the 52 weeks to April 29 while sales rose 27.4pc to £752m. Like-forlike retail sales grew by 12.7pc.