Ashley finally shuts stores ...then puts web prices UP

BILLIONAIRE Mike Ashley finally bowed to pressure yesterday and close his Sports Direct stores, then hiked the prices online.

Some sports equipment such as skipping ropes and weights – useful for those in self-isolation – went up by more than 50 per cent.

Ashley’s Frasers Group, which also owns Evans Cycles, had said its shops would remain open despite the lockdown announced on Monday.

Chief finance officer Chris Wootton said the firm was ‘uniquely well placed’ to keep the UK fit and healthy. But bosses did a U-turn after Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove called the decision ‘wrong’ and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that ‘sports kit is not essential’.

Shortly after announcing stores would close, Sports Direct sent staff a note of which prices should be increased. An Everlast 4kg kettle bell weight has gone up from £9.99 to £14.99 – although the sticker will still say the original ticket price was £19.99. A Lonsdale skipping rope is £4.99, up from £2.99. Staff at Sports Direct and another Frasers Group store, clothing chain Jack Wills, said they had been forced to attend work yesterday to receive their wages. Many said they feared for their safety after being told to perform stock valuations and fulfil web orders.

The firm’s factories and warehouses will remain open. Sports Direct factory worker Leonnie Foster, 18, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, said: ‘It is unrealistic to stand two metres away from people at all times.’

Last night, Frasers Group tried to blame the Government for the slow decision to close stores, describing the guidelines as ‘confusing’. On the price rises, a spokesman added: ‘While some goods have seen an increase... this is not the complete picture. Not only were these goods originally discounted, but even now they are under the RRP.’