Life Style Sports, officially Lifestyle Sports (Ireland) Limited is Ireland's largest sports retailer, operating 46 outlets spread across the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. They stock

sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

and sport fashions.

History

Life Style Sports Flagship Store, Mary Street, Dublin 1, 2014

Life Style Sports was established in 1979 in the Republic of Ireland by

Quinnsworth Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tr ...

, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods. In 1997 it was bought by

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

PLC but was later spun off via a

management buy-out A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

of seven directors, led by MD Andrew Sharkey and

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

firm, ACT. In November 2005, it was acquired by Stafford Holdings – an Irish family-owned company who stated, "This latest acquisition is in line with its stated strategy of seeking acquisition opportunities in new sectors which offer strong growth potential, while maintaining a strong commitment to its current portfolio of businesses." In 2006, former

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The f ...

senior director Eoin McGettigan was appointed CEO. Mark Stafford took up the role of chairman. In early 2009, Mark Stafford replaced McGettigan as CEO. He was joined by former

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Ireland general manager Nigel Cowman as Finance Director, Dan Ryan from Penneys and Brown Thomas as Trading Director. In September 2007 a new flagship store opened in the

Blanchardstown Centre The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's largest shopping centres, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies in the administration of Fingal County ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. This remained their largest store, at . until 2017. In July 2017, the company's new flagship store opened in The Capitol building

St Patrick's Street St Patrick's Street ( ga, Sráid Naomh Pádraig) is the main shopping street of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick ...

in Cork. In 2013, Life Style Sports became the official retail partner of Leinster Rugby, with a Life Style Sports store located in

Donnybrook Stadium Donnybrook Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as Energia Park, is a rugby union stadium in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland. The stadium has a capacity of 6,000, including a 2,500 seat covered grandstand which was completed in early 2008. Hi ...

and the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), home of Leinster Rugby. Life Style Sports is also the official retail partner of

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster B ...

Timeline of notable company events

* 1979 – Life Style Sports opens for business in the Republic of Ireland by Power Supermarkets Limited. * 1997 – Life Style Sports expands to 32 stores nationwide. * 2000 –

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli c ...

appears in the Life Style Sports

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

TV advert. * 2004 – The Killers' single Mr. Brightside debuts on the Life Style Sports TV advert. * 2005 – Company acquired by Stafford Holdings, an Irish family-owned company. * 2009 – MTV presenter, Natasha Gilbert, stars in the first ever Life Style Sports Woman's Fitness Campaign "Your Life, Your Style, Your World”. * 2011 – New Life Style Sports brand identity launched. * 2012 – New flagship stores on Mary Street and in

Dundrum Town Centre Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 169 tenants, almost of floor space, and over 3,400 car parking spaces. It is located just south of the village ce ...

, both in Dublin, are opened. * 2012 – Life Style Sports relaunched its website as a full e-commerce site. * 2017 - A new flagship store was launched in Cork.

References

External links

Life Style Sports website
{{Authority control Sporting goods retailers Clothing retailers of Ireland Irish companies established in 1979 Retail companies established in 1979

History

Timeline of notable company events

See also

References

External links