JD Sports Continues Athleticwear Takeover

JD Sports is adding to its global footprint yet again.

The UK sportswear company is set to buy a 60% stake in Poland’s Marketing Investment Group (MIG), which operates over 410 retail stores and websites across nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It sells sports footwear, apparel, and accessories.

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, JD said last month that it was targeting acquisitions after raising roughly $646.7 million in an equity issue. The company has been on a hot streak of large-scale investments for a few years now.

• June 2018: Acquired Finish Line for $558 million
• December 2020: Bought California-based Shoe Palace for $325 million
• February 2021: Purchased Baltimore-based DTLR Villa for $495 million

The aggressive expansion “gives JD a foothold in interesting growth markets, and we would expect flagship stores to follow in big cities,” said analysts at Peel Hunt.

As the company grows across Europe, executive chairman Peter Cowgill said it wants to avoid paying post-Brexit tariffs by finding a distribution center within the European Union. MIG doesn’t have enough warehouse space to satisfy that need, so JD will continue looking for a site in the Netherlands or Germany.

MIG reported revenue of over $278.3 million in its fiscal year that ended January 31, 2021. The deal with JD is expected to close before the end of May.