// Frasers Group shifts to being more selective in its acquisition strategy
// New CEO Michael Murray said future purchases would be a lot more selective
Frasers Group boss Michael Murray has said the Sports Direct owner has shifted its acquisition strategy to becoming more selective.
Sports Direct rebranded itself as Frasers after Murray’s father-in-law Mike Ashley bought the House of Fraser retail chain out of administration in 2018.
Ashley founded Sports Direct in the early 1980s and took it public in 2007.
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The company’s acquisition strategy, which often involved taking non-controlling stakes in listed businesses, bemused some investors.
Murray said future purchases would be a lot more selective.
“If it doesn’t fit into sport, premium or luxury or add value to our ecosystem or platform, then we won’t be buying it,” he said.
Since taking over, Murray has acquired struggling ecommerce retailers Missguided and I Saw It First but sold the group’s stakes in Bobs Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, saying he “didn’t believe they were core to the group’s strategy”.
But he declined to specify which of Frasers’ other investments, which range from Evans Cycles to former catalogue retailer Studio Retail, might be offloaded.
The news comes after Murray pledged to rebuild bridges with the City after taking over from Ashley.
Frasers will have a capital markets day, where shareholders can meet bosses and hear more about a firm’s plans.
