Sports Direct has hiked prices by more than 50 per cent on sports equipment as millions are locked down in their homes during the coronavirus crisis.
The high street giant is encouraging people to ‘be healthy at home’ and promoting sporting apparatus and active wear for customers to buy online.
Last night Chris Wootton, chief finance officer of owner Frasers Group, acknowledged that home fitness was trending on social media.
In a memo to staff, he wrote: ‘We stock a huge range of sports equipment designed for exercising at home… indeed home fitness is the number one trending topic on social media after coronavirus itself.
‘Against the backdrop of the closure of gyms the demand for these types of products has increased exponentially as the population looks to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
‘Consequently, we are uniquely well placed to help keep the UK as fit and healthy as possible during this crisis.’
This comes as ‘scared and confused’ Sports Direct workers today claim they feel their lives are ‘undervalued’ because they are still being made to work despite stores being closed to the public.
And another of Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group retailers, Jack Wills, is asking staff to continue working in its stores despite Government advice to stay at home unless you are an ‘essential’ worker, employees claim.
The high street giant is encouraging people to ‘be healthy at home’ and promoting sporting apparatus and active wear for customers to buy online – but has hiked prices
Another of Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group retailers, Jack Wills, is asking staff to continue working in its stores despite Government advice to stay at home unless you are an ‘essential’ worker, employees claim
Last night, Mr Wootton wrote: ‘There is no one else that has the range of product and range of stores to make this reasonably accessible for the whole population.’
The finance chief, who sits on the board alongside chief executive and majority owner Mr Ashley, signed off: ‘Thanks for your incredible efforts during this time.’
In one message sent to staff on Tuesday morning, the company wrote ‘we will not open our Sports Direct or Evans Stores to the public’ and it carries on ‘please continue to head into work as we have been instructed last night’.
And today, Sports Direct also sent a document to staff which shows the lines that should have price rises applied.
Because the company operates a system of having ‘ticket’ prices, followed by ‘reduced’ stickers, it can be unclear what price a product was ever sold at.
Pricing documents show that an Everlast 4kg kettle bell has gone up from £9.99 to £14.99 – although the sticker will still say the ‘original’ ticket price was £19.99.
The cost of a 12kg kettle bell by Everlast, which is owned by Sports Direct’s parent company Frasers Group, is now £39.99, up from £29.99.
Other items include Slazenger, Lonsdale and several other well-known brands which are owned by Frasers.
Because the company operates a system of having ‘ticket’ prices, followed by ‘reduced’ stickers, it can be unclear what price a product was ever sold at
The increased prices come as Frasers Group, which includes House of Fraser, Jack Wills, Evans Cycles and Sports Direct, among others, was forced into a U-turn over store openings.
A Frasers spokesman said: ‘While some goods have seen an increase in price at Sports Direct, this is not the complete or accurate picture.
‘Not only were these goods originally discounted, but even now they are under the RRP.
‘In regard to the rest of the Group facias – including Flannels, House of Fraser and USC – there continues to be a 20% discount on all online sales until mid-April.’
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which includes Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, had written to all workers within 30 minutes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to shut down all non-essential retailers at 8.30pm last night.
However Chris Wootton said this morning – less than 12 hours later – that its stores would not open today after all.
He said in a ‘clarification’ that they will remain shut, despite stating that Government policy ‘excludes bicycle shops from closure’.
Stores will not reopen until ‘given the go-ahead by the Government’, he added.
But over at Jack Wills, one member of staff claims that workers are sitting in stores waiting for instructions.
One said: ‘We feel like we’re putting ourselves and others at risk by not staying at home like the Government has told us to.
‘I’ve got colleagues feeling frustrated and angry.
‘We feel disrespected by Mike Ashley’s decisions to try and keep the company trading.
‘The lack of communication and plan when they knew this was likely is embarrassing.’
The retailer said it is contacting the Government ‘at all levels’ in an attempt to get confirmation from the Prime Minister.
It comes after politicians hit out at the business for its plan to keep stores open after Boris Johnson ordered non-essential shops to close, with Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery telling company majority owner Mike Ashley to ‘take some responsibility’ and ‘shut up shop’.
The group wrote to all workers within 30 minutes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to shut down non-essential retailers, telling them its position selling sporting and fitness equipment made it a vital asset during a national shutdown.
Labour MP Jess Phillips also criticised the appeal to keep stores open, tweeting: ‘Massive mugs notwithstanding there is nothing people cannot live without in Sports Direct.’
Rival retailers such as JD Sports have confirmed that stores will remain shut until Government guidance changes.