Dubai-based Gulf Marketing Group (GMG) has announced the purchase of Royal Sporting House (RSH), one of the largest multi-brand sports retailers in southeast Asia.
Over the last four decades, the GMG Sports division has expanded from a single retail store in Dubai, to over 300 stores in 18 cities across six countries, becoming the largest sports retailer in the MENA region.
Although the value of the deal was not disclosed, Mohammad A Baker, deputy chairman and CEO of GMG, told Arabian Business more acquisitions were in the pipeline for 2021.
He said: “GMG will always pursue plans to grow its business. We create our own opportunities, and look for opportunities to acquire and create world-class brands and organisations. Ultimately, our ambition is to operate a sports retail store in every major market in the world.”
The GMG Sports portfolio includes homegrown brands such as Sun and Sand Sports as well as being a distributor for global brands like Nike, Columbia, Timberland, Vans, and more.
Baker added that existing outlets will continue to operate under the RSH brand. “RSH will absolutely continue to operate as a stand-alone brand within GMG. Our intention is to further enhance the business. As with any business, we will recalibrate our store network when we see a need to do so, but we ultimately aim to build on RSH’s existing strengths and brand equity in the market,” he said.
Through the RSH acquisition, GMG Sports is increasing its presence in the Gulf and entering some of the largest markets in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore as well as Hong Kong and Egypt.
The UAE-based holding company will now operate over 550 sports retail stores in 57 cities across 12 countries. This will include more than 1.9 million sq. ft. of physical retail space, 10 warehouses, and employing nearly 8,000 people.
With the expanded presence, GMG Sports will have the potential to reach more than 700 million consumers around the world.
Baker said: “As an entrepreneurial business, we always look to where the market and consumers are moving to. We are extremely excited to take our GMG vision and our sports expertise to new geographies, creating economies of scale while delivering additional value to our customers.”
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