Kommersant learned about the bankruptcy of the Polish business of Sportmaster

Sportmaster may close its Polish sports goods network Go Sport, for which the group paid an estimated €40 million three years ago, Kommersant reports, citing sources in the retail market.

Sportmaster bought Go Sport in 2019, according to experts, for €40 million in order to enter the EU markets. However, on April 27, the Polish authorities put Go Sport on the sanctions list along with 35 companies from Russia and Belarus. All retailer accounts in the country were blocked, 25 points of sale and the retailer's online store were closed.

In March, after the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Sportmaster's HEAD office, Sportmaster Operations Ltd., registered in Singapore, announced its intention to sell Go Sport. According to Wprost.pl, in early May, the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK) of Poland even approved the transfer of control over the network to the British Sports Direct structure. However, the deal never took place, a Kommersant source said.

According to the Polish publication Puls Biznesu, the chain has already filed for bankruptcy.

The Sportmaster group was founded in 1992 by brothers Nikolai and Vladimir Fartushnyak and Dmitry Doykhen, who are considered the owners of the business. Now the group, according to its own data, is in the top 3 leading sports companies in Europe and in the top 10 leading retail sports companies in the world.

The Sportmaster retail chain has over 450 stores in 220 cities. In addition to the main brand, the company is developing Urban Vibes multi-brand sports shoes stores, operates the Columbia and Skechers franchise networks in Russia, and since the fall of 2018 has been developing its own Demix mono-brand chain.

The company is included in the RBC rating of the 500 largest companies in the country by revenue, ranking 143rd in 2020. The year before last, its revenue decreased by 9%, to 102 billion rubles. (according to the company, 20% was provided by online sales), net profit increased by 22%, to 10 billion rubles. Data for 2021 was not disclosed.

A few days before the start of the Russian special operation, Sportmaster also came under Ukrainian sanctions . On February 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions against 18 legal entities, among which was Sportmaster Operation Pte. Ltd. it owns 99% of Sportmaster Ukraine LLC (the remaining 1% is owned by Sport & Fashion Management Pte. Ltd, also registered in Singapore). Companies for three years were banned from conducting trade operations, transiting and transporting resources through the territory of Ukraine and withdrawing capital outside the country.

The retailer called the decision of the Ukrainian authorities baseless and erroneous. The company believes that the sanctions raise many questions, "answers to which even the leading lawyers of Ukraine cannot yet give." Representatives of Sportmaster Ukraine said that there were no reasons to restrict the company's activities, since it "worked and will continue to work exclusively in the legal field" and complies with Ukrainian and international legislation.