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Frasers Group Plc
Frasers Group sells sports, fitness, fashion and luxury clothing, footwear and equipment to shoppers, mostly through its own stores and websites.
Frasers Group is a British retailer that sells the stuff people wear and use to play sports, work out, and look good — trainers, hoodies, gym gear, jackets, handbags and luxury fashion. You probably know it through its biggest chain, Sports Direct, the slightly chaotic-looking high-street store stuffed with branded sportswear at low prices. It also owns fashion names like Flannels, which sells designer labels, and House of Fraser, the department store chain. So it covers both ends of the market: bargain sportswear and expensive fashion under one roof.
The company makes money by buying branded products — Nike trainers, Adidas tracksuits, designer coats — and selling them through its own stores and websites. Its edge is scale and hard bargaining: it buys huge volumes cheaply, keeps costs low, and often snaps up struggling rivals for a bargain price. That has made it a serial acquirer, hoovering up brands and retailers that others gave up on, including the collapse of Debenhams and the rescue of House of Fraser. It also owns its own brands, like Everlast and Slazenger, which carry fatter profit margins because nobody else gets a cut. The business is controlled by Mike Ashley, the founder who built Sports Direct from a single shop in Maidenhead into this empire. He is a famously blunt, combative operator who loves a deal and is not shy about picking fights. More recently his son-in-law, Michael Murray, took over as chief executive, pushing the group further into luxury and "elevated" retail. The company is headquartered in Shirebrook, a small town in Derbyshire, where its warehouse and offices sit.
Frasers is not without bruises. It has been criticised for the way it treats some suppliers and workers, and its stores have a reputation for looking messy. It also holds big stakes in other retailers, like boohoo and ASOS, which adds a financial investing angle on top of plain retailing. Covid hit its stores hard, but the group has bounced back and keeps buying. Its pitch to shoppers is simple: branded gear, often cheaper than the competition, in stores on nearly every British high street.
Saved answer · last researched 14 Nov 2026