LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Mike Ashley's Frasers Group said on Tuesday that it has entered a long-term strategic retail agreement with Accent Group to launch and operate Sports Direct across Australia and New Zealand.
Frasers pointed out that Accent Group has a significant presence in Australasia, where it is a key retailer and distributor of premium lifestyle and sports footwear with over 900 stores, 12 distributed brands and proven retail operations capability in the Australian market.

It said the partnership will support its growth across Australia and New Zealand, with the objective of opening 100 stores in the region. "This aligns with the group's bold retail expansion strategy to become the leading global sports retailer," said Frasers, which is Accent's largest shareholder.

Frasers said it will work closely with Accent to continue expanding its existing presence across the region's sports retail market, "with potential to explore opportunities in further retail and business segments in future".

The partnership will offer Accent Group access to many brands owned by Frasers, including Everlast, Slazenger, Karrimor and USA Pro, among others.

As part of the partnership, Frasers has also committed to lifting its shareholding in Accent Group to 19.57%, "underscoring its confidence in Accent Group's leadership and growth potential," it said.

In addition, Accent Group has bought Frasers' discount online fashion marketplace, MySale, consolidating Frasers' Australian operations into Accent and extending Accent's online presence.

Chief executive Michael Murray said: "Since acquiring a strategic shareholding in Accent, we have developed a robust partnership between Frasers and Accent. Accent has an impressive, well-established platform with various sneaker concepts and a strong distribution of brands.

"We're looking forward to expanding our partnership to launch Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand, working towards our bold plan of opening 100 stores. This reaffirms our commitment to drive growth of the Sports Direct brand internationally and marks a significant step forward in our ambition to becoming the leading global sporting goods retailer."

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