Mike Ashley adds MegaValue.com high street store to Sports Direct business
Mike Ashley rarely sits still. With his ownership of the beleaguered Newcastle United dominating the headlines, the Sports Direct owner has quietly added a new high street business to his interests.
Read more: Rangers and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has too much power, says IoD
The subtly-titled MegaValue.com is a new discount store that recently appeared on a Kidderminster High Street on the site of an old department store.
The shop appears to be Ashley's expansion into the general merchandising and discounting sector as his cut-price sports retailer deals with slowing sales growth.
Megavalue.com was registered as a private limited company with Companies House last month, with Sports Direct chief executive David Forsey listed as company director and Sports Direct as the only shareholder. A second company, Megavaluedirect.com, has also been registered under the same conditions.
A screengrab from MegaValue.com (Source: Getty)
An unresponsive web page has been set up on the MegaValue.com domain, directing users to the store's Kidderminster base.
MegaValue.com looks likely to be a rival to general goods stores such as B&M and Wilko, and was dubbed "Son of Woolworths" in its early stages of development according to the Mail On Sunday.
Update: Sports Direct confirmed to City A.M. that the site in Kidderminster is a trial store, and further updates will be provided at the time of their preliminary results on 16 July.