Member Article

Sporting Pro website to launch ahead of store openings

Lancashire retail chain Matalan will launch the website for its new sports outlet Sporting Pro next week, in the build up to the opening of its first stores.

The firm says that it will create up to 370 jobs as 14 Sporting Pro shops are due to open across the UK by the end of the year.

Initially, three stores will open in Walsall, Coleraine in Northern Ireland and Harlow within October.

Another seven stores are set to open in Stockport, Colchester, Leeds, Knaresborough, Stockton, Sheffield and Wakefield within the next two months.

Head of Sporting Pro Tom Knight said: “Our first stores are near completion and we’re looking forward to seeing the public’s reaction.”

The shops will feature printed flooring resembling sports courts, pitches and running tracks.

Customers will be able to purchase custom-moulded insoles by sports industry foot specialist FootBalance and have gait analysis assessments conducted on in-store treadmills.

Stores will be split into categories including team sports, outdoor, racket sports, running and junior and have a strong women’s presence with an “extensive” range of footwear, clothing and sports equipment.

Matalan, based in Skelmersdale in West Lancashire, was founded by John Hargreaves, the son of a Liverpool docker.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .