Ashley calls for Nike probe

MiKe Ashley’s sports Direct has called for wide- ranging investigation into the sportswear industry, complaining about the dominance of Adidas and nike.

the retailer said the ‘ musthave’ brands hold a bargaining position which allows them to control supply and the price of their products. Adidas, for example, has blocked Ashley’s retail empire from selling some of its products, sports Direct said.

‘sports Direct believes that the industry as a whole would benefit from a wide market review by the appropriate authorities in both the UK and europe,’ a spokesman said.

Ashley’s grievance stretches as far back as 2013 when the German sportswear group withdrew replica chelsea shirts from sports Direct stores. the retailer said the dominance of nike and Adidas allows them to ‘[refuse] to supply key products... with no apparent justification’.

the calls come after the sunday times revealed nike has told several independent retailers it will pull its products from their stores. it is part of a move by the Us giant to reduce the number of retailers it uses and push customers towards its website.

‘All those companies that built a business on the back of nike and Adidas are toast – there’s no way they can replace that [business],’ a source told the paper.

in the past, Adidas and nike have preferred to work with rival JD sports, but sports Direct has attempted to make inroads, appointing former nike executive David Daly as chairman.