The Guardian (including associated Sports Direct chat)

[forlanssister 3,050]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/20/sports-direct-boss-mike-ashley-faces-findel-board-defeat

 

 

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley faces Findel board defeat

 

Online retailer’s investors likely to reject appointment at EGM, fearing a Sports Direct employee on the board would compromise independence

 

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley is facing defeat in his battle to install a representative on the board of the online retailer Findel, in which he bought a 19% stake.

 

Ashley has called an extraordinary general meeting on Monday of Findel shareholders, who will vote on the appointment of Ben Gardener, a Sports Direct employee, to the board.

 

Findel’s board has already advised shareholders to vote against the appointment of Gardener, who is linked to the controversial administration of part of Sports Direct’s USC chain.

 

 

Revealed: how Sports Direct stripped USC assets before it collapsed

Read more

In a letter to shareholders, it said the appointment would “compromise the independence of the board and would provide information and voice to one shareholder in preference to other shareholders”.

 

Major shareholders Toscafund, Schroders and River & Mercantile, who together control 43.9% of Findel, have already agreed to vote against Sports Direct.

 

Their support for Findel’s board means Sports Direct is unlikely to secure the 50% backing it needs to install Gardener.

 

The battle with Findel comes as Ashley’s business faces heavy criticism over employment practices at Sports Direct following revelations made by the Guardian.

 

Sports Direct boss Dave Forsey has also been charged with a criminal offence in relation to redundancies which occurred when part of the USC fashion chain was put into administration.

 

Findel said Sports Direct was a direct competitor of its online football kit store Kitbag and was also interested in buying its Express Gifts division, which sells homewares, toys, games and other gifts online.

 

“It is not appropriate to appoint a [sports Direct] nominee director to the board given [sports Direct’s] commercial interests in the company’s business,” the board said.

 

“The most appropriate way for [sports Direct] to gain control of the company’s capabilities is to make a fair offer for the whole company. Were [sports Direct] to purchase the company from shareholders, it could make appointments to the board and control the company’s business.”

 

Sports Direct snapped up its 19% stake in Findel in September. Its shares soared, on speculation that Ashley was after Kitbag and in anticipation of a bidding war, as Findel said it had already agreed terms on a sale with another party.

 

In early November Sports Direct put out a notice requisitioning an emergency shareholder meeting to vote on the appointment of Gardener.

 

Sports Direct has a history of taking strategic stakes in other retailers in an attempt to gain influence over their boards. Earlier this year it secured space within Debenhams’ department stores after taking out a put option on shares in Debenhams, which gave it influence over a 16.6% stake. Adidas, JD Sports and now defunct JJB Sports have also been targeted in the past.

 

 

[trublusince1982 243]

wouldn't trust the word of mercantile are they not the one who said one thing and did another with us?

[colinstein 294]

was it mercantile who sold their shares to Dave King ?

[forlanssister 3,050]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/21/mike-ashley-sports-direct-fails-to-put-representative-on-findel-board

 

 

Sports Direct lashes out as Findel rejects planned board member

 

Sports retailer accuses online retailer of under-delivering for shareholders after attempt to appoint delegate to board was opposed by four-fifths of those who voted

 

Sports Direct has accused Findel of under-delivering for shareholders after its attempt to put a representative on the board of the online retailer was rebuffed.

 

Nearly 81% of shareholders who voted came out against a resolution to appoint Ben Gardener at an emergency shareholder meeting in Manchester on Monday.

 

Sports Direct owns a 17.5% stake in Findel, having cut its investment from 19% last week. But the board won the backing of major investors Toscafund, Schroders and River & Mercantile.

 

The voting figures from the meeting indicated that Sports Direct was the only major shareholder to back Gardener.

 

Findel’s board advised shareholders to block the appointment, saying that Sports Direct was a direct competitor of its online football kit store, Kitbag, and was also interested in buying its Express Gifts division, which sells homewares, toys, games and other gifts online.

 

In an angry statement issued after the vote, Sports Direct said: “Findel should focus on trying to run its business more successfully and not reject offers of specialist assistance.

 

“All the Findel business segments could have been improved for the benefit of all of its shareholders with the retail expertise of Sports Direct. Mr Gardener could have helped in all these regards and would have been a positive addition to a board that Sports Direct believes has under-delivered for its shareholders.”

 

It said the company had been without a chief executive since March and had not yet been able to agree terms of a sale of its Kitbag division despite announcing a transaction in September.

 

Sports Direct said it had acquired its shareholding in Findel on the understanding that this would be “of benefit to and welcomed by Findel and its other major shareholders” and that Toscafund and Schroders were in support of Gardener’s appointment.

 

In response to Sports Direct’s criticism, Findel said: “Over the last five years the new leadership team of Findel has been very focused on restoring shareholder value and the group is on track to record another significant step up in profit before tax in the current financial year.”

 

Findel’s board told shareholders ahead of Monday’s vote that the most appropriate way for Sports Direct to influence its business was to “make a fair offer for the whole company”.

 

It is not clear whether Sports Direct, which has a history of taking strategic stakes in related companies including Debenhams and JD Sports, will now make a bid. The company is under pressure to make acquisitions to meet its growth targets and some analysts believe Findel would provide a fitting target.

 

Shares in Findel soared in September when Sports Direct first revealed its stake on hopes that the sports retailer would make a bid. Findel is already in advanced talks over the sale of Kitbag to another unnamed party and investors hoped Sports Direct’s stake-building signalled a potential bidding war.

 

Matthew McEachran, a retail analyst at N+1 Singer, said Sports Direct would probably not buy Kitbag because its suppliers did not want their goods sold via owner Mike Ashley’s business and could terminate their agreements under change of ownership clauses if he won control.

 

He said Findel was nevertheless an attractive target for Sports Direct as its Express Gifts division had a well-developed financial services operation which could provide potential synergies and new potential avenues of growth.

 

“It is difficult to second guess Sports Direct but the most logical step might be a bid for Findel in order to acquire Express Gifts. It could bring a huge strategic step change. At the moment there is a lot of investor concern about growth at Sports Direct. It is falling short of its targets and it needs to make acquisitions. Findel looks like it could fit the bill,” he said.

 

[Son Of The Somme 0]

The net is slowly closing.

[forlanssister 3,050]

Sports Direct's Mike Ashley promises £10m to pay staff above minimum wage

 

Move follows Guardian investigation into workers’ conditions at Shirebrook complex but Unite calls announcement a PR stunt

 

The Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has pledged to spend £10m on raising the pay of the retailer’s staff above the minimum wage.

 

Sports Direct said the increase will affect all directly employed and “directly engaged casual workers” and will take effect from 1 January. It will cost £10m a year, including “related costs and knock-on costs”, the company told the stock market in a statement.

 

The move follows a Guardian investigation that revealed how the company effectively pays thousands of temporary workers at its warehouse below the below the national minimum wage of £6.70 an hour. Staff are required to go through searches at the end of each shift for which their time is unpaid, but also suffer deductions from their wage packets for clocking in for a shift just one minute late.

 

The revelations prompted criticism from trade unions and MPs over the retail chain’s pay and employment practices, including the use of zero-hours contracts, under which staff do not know how many hours they will work from one week to the next.

 

Announcing the £10m investment in a newspaper interview, Ashley said he wanted to make Sports Direct “the best high street retail employer after John Lewis”.

 

Announcing the £10m investment in a newspaper interview, Ashley said he wanted to make Sports Direct “the best high street retail employer after John Lewis”.

 

The tycoon told the Daily Mirror: “I realise this is ambitious and it won’t be easy, but I believe that as a FTSE 100 or even 250 company, we have a responsibility to set a high moral standard.”

 

Unite, Britain’s largest union, dismissed the announcement as a “PR stunt”.

 

It said Sports Direct would increase the pay of 18 to 20-year-olds to £5.45 per hour and for workers over 21, the rate will rise to £6.85 an hour. However, from April, Sports Direct will be forced to pay workers over 25 the new national living wage, introduced by George Osborne, of £7.20 an hour.

 

Unite called for the company to commit to paying the living wage – a voluntary measure separate from the national living wage and set at £8.25 outside London – and put all staff on permanent contracts instead of zero-hours agreements.

 

Luke Primarolo, the Unite regional officer, said: “This pitiful promise by Sports Direct to pay just over the minimum wage should not distract from the Victorian work practices at the retailer’s massive Shirebrook depot. Nor should it deter HMRC from investigating the possible non-payment of the minimum wage to the thousands of agency staff who eke out a living on the site.

 

“Fundamental problems remain at Sports Direct, ranging from the exploitative use of zero-hours contracts in its stores through to ‘gulag’ working conditions at its main warehouse in Shirebrook.

 

“If Mike Ashley is to fulfill his promise of making Sports Direct a model employer then he needs to commit Sports Direct to becoming a living wage employer and stamp out abusive work practices by putting all staff on permanent contracts. Otherwise, he risks accusations of engaging in yet another PR stunt and a continued loss of confidence among customers and investors alike.”

 

Sports Direct has already said Ashley will lead a review into the terms and conditions of the company’s agency workers. Unite said Ashley needed to engage with the union “as a matter of urgency” over the review.

 

There are about 4,300 agency workers employed in Sports Direct’s warehouse and an estimated 15,000 zero-hours staff in its stores. The company employs about 28,000 people across the UK and Europe.

 

Shares in the company rose slightly after the announcement of the pay rise, increasing by 0.5% to 572.50p.

 

More than £400m was wiped off the company’s value after investors turned on the company following disappointing financial results and the Guardian revelations.

 

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/31/mike-ashley-10m-pay-all-sports-direct-staff-above-minimum-wage

[compo 6,161]

Just jumped up rag stores

[forlanssister 3,050]

Not a good day for Sports Direct.

 

 

Sports Direct issues profit warning after poor Christmas sales

 

Sports Direct has shocked the stock market with a warning that annual profits will be up to £40m lower than expected, blaming tough trading on the high street and unseasonal weather in the run-up to Christmas.

 

More than £400m was wiped off the value of the company as shares in Sports Direct fell 12% in the wake of the announcement.

 

Analysis Sports Direct's story of easy growth seems to be over

Nils Pratley

Nils Pratley Read more

The profits warning comes just a month after a Guardian investigation revealed that the company effectively pays thousands of temporary workers below the national minimum wage of £6.70 an hour and subjects warehouse staff to a regime of searches and surveillance.

 

In a stock market statement, Sports Direct said that it now expected to miss its target for underlying profits of £420m. It is forecasting that profits will now be between £380m and £420m for the year to the end of April.

 

“Since our interim results on 10 December 2015, we have seen a deterioration of trading conditions on the high street and a continuation of the unseasonal weather over the key Christmas period,” the company said.

 

Many fashion retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Next, have suffered a tough time in the run up to Christmas as coats and knitwear have been left on the shelves.

 

But analysts were sceptical about that the weather would have hit Sports Direct in the same way, given its focus on branded footwear and sports clothing, which could arguably in more demand during a mild spell.

 

Rival JD Sports upgraded its profit expectations by £10m in early December as it revealed it was enjoying “relatively strong trading.”

 

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Outdoor gear retailer Mountain Warehouse also revealed it had seen 28.6% rise in sales over the six weeks 3 January including a 49% surge in online sales.

 

Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst said: “Sports Direct is not the most obvious victim of the weather. It is selling a bit of outerwear and footwear but not coats and jumpers. This is more to do with JD Sports which is now a preferred retailer for the big brands like Adidas and Nike and it could well be that the consumer generally sees its 50% signs as not for real and the stores are a tip. The criticism [about treatment of workers] can’t be helping either,” he said.

 

Jonathan Pritchard, an analyst at Peel Hunt, said: “Whilst the weather has been unhelpful, we believe that there are other major problems at play here. We have long had an issue with the range (too much own label, not enough high-quality branded product), and some mud from press articles/documentaries may have stuck to the brand.”

 

Sports Direct has faced a barrage of criticism about its treatment of workers since The Guardian published its revelations in early December, just ahead of the retailer’s last trading update.

 

The company was branded a “scar on British business” by the Institute of Directors, and was rounded on by its own shareholders and opposition MPs who have demanded that the FTSE 100 company be investigated by HMRC over its pay practices.

 

Sports Direct’s latest profit warning comes despite the fact that some analysts had already downgraded profit expectations last month, when the company revealed worse-than-expected sales figures.

 

Last summer Sports Direct reduced this year’s profit performance target for its staff bonus scheme from £480m to £420m. The company said the target should be lowered because it had failed to buy other businesses.

 

The retailer’s value has dived by nearly £1.4bn since the Guardian published its revelations on 9 December.

 

One analyst said the company was at risk of falling out of the FTSE 100 list of the UK’s largest companies if its shares continued to fall.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/08/sports-direct-issues-profit-warning-poor-christmas-sales

 

 

Couple who supplied workers to Sports Direct charged over slavery

 

Pair arrested as part of investigation into human trafficking and charged with causing another person to perform forced labour

 

A couple who supplied workers to Sports Direct have appeared in court on modern slavery charges.

 

Dariusz Parczewski, 47, and his wife, Bozena Parczewska, 46, were arrested as part of an investigation into human trafficking and were both charged with causing another person to perform forced labour.

 

Their son Krystian Parczewski, 27, was charged with an offence under the Fraud Act.

 

Sports Direct has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

 

All three from Aspley in Nottingham appeared at Nottingham crown court and will next appear on 22 April for a plea hearing.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/08/couple-who-supplied-workers-to-sports-direct-charged-over-slavery

 

 

[Frankie 8,157]

Another bad day for big Mike...

[BlueMazza 0]

Their treatment of workers is HORRENDOUS

The stores are a tip

He stuck the boot in to us,

 

I'm more than happy to see profits dwindle and I sincerely hope part of it is due to lack of revenue from our merchandise.

 

JD bags used to be a ned badge of honour haha, but I more than happily buy out of there now and even if nothing else it's a much more pleasant experience - their new Glasgow store on Argyll Street is great.