The Luxembourg commercial sports/leisure sector is preparing to experience the end of the year marked by a British offensive. It is led by Frasers Group, the conglomerate of billionaire Mike Ashley, whose name refers to the department store chains House of Fraser and Frasers, the equivalent of Galeries Lafayette in the British Isles.
It is through Sports Direct, one of its flagships and its historic brand, that Frasers Group is attacking the Luxembourg market. Or rather is strengthening there, since the two Knauf shopping centers, owned by Nextensa in the north of the Grand Duchy in Pommerloch and Schmiede, each already host a Sports Direct store.
In quick succession, thanks to two openings in Esch-sur-Alzette at the end of October then in Luxembourg City during December, the retailer will change its scale and position itself as a heavyweight in the local market. Which relies mainly on the distributors Citabel, Intersport or Asport (3 stores each), while Decathlon has occupied a premium, albeit narrow, location in the capital since 2021.
At Belval-Plaza, end of October
As announced several months ago, Sports Direct must set up in Belval Plaza, in Belval. The shopping center is undertaking, in the Belval Plaza 1 building, very close to direct access to the Belval-Université train station, major work enabling the creation or renovation of 2,800 m² of space.
These will house a brand new “food hall”, made up of four catering workshops, a bar and a “grab and go”. From the station, Sports Direct will be accessible immediately on the right for approximately 1,200 m². The location will have a frontage of 18 meters and a preferential location along the station flow.
The Belval Plaza food hall under construction on September 17. Sports Direct will be set up at the end of October in a large volume on the right in this photo. © PHOTO: Laurent Sturm
Avenue de la Gare, in December
A few weeks after Esch-Belval, Sports Direct will strike again with the planned opening of a first store in the capital, on the very strategic but delicate avenue de la Gare.
At the beginning of September, the First Alderman in charge of commercial issues, Maurice Bauer (CSV), announced the upcoming installation of two renowned players, capable of breathing new life into the artery plagued by repeated closures. Sports Direct will be one of them and the financial strength of Frasers Group (a turnover of 5.5 billion pounds for the annual financial year ending April 30, 2023) certainly legitimizes the noise around the arrival of the British sports retail giant, present in 25 countries and with nearly 500 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Avenue de la Gare, Sports Direct will be located in the 1,043 m² commercial space at number 42, previously occupied by Maisons du Monde until its closure in 2023. The development work is in progress and must allow the address to be opened during December, before the end of year holidays.
Contacted to comment on its Luxembourg strategy, Frasers Group did not respond to our requests at the time of publication of this article. Still, the conglomerate is strengthening its positioning in the Benelux, where it aims for leadership in the sporting goods retail sector, with a lot of openings and acquisitions.
“Frasers Group remains faithful to its ambitions of international expansion and we consider that the Benelux region is fundamental in this regard,” explained Ger Wright, the general director of the sports sector within the company, in a press release a few days ago. band.
