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

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. They stock

sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...

and sport fashions.

History

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

Quinnsworth Quinnsworth was a supermarket chain that operated in Ireland from 1966 to 2001. During its time in operation, it grew to be one of Ireland's leading retailers, with approximately one quarter of the grocery market in the Republic of Ireland, an ...

, 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 the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

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 High-net-worth individual, individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts bec ...

of seven directors, led by MD Andrew Sharkey and

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

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. It was founded by Ben Dunne (businessman, born 1908), Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain al ...

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

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

Blanchardstown Centre The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's two largest shopping complexes, located in Blanchardstown and Coolmine, western suburbs of Dublin, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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

St Patrick's Street St Patrick's Street () is the main shopping street of the city of Cork (city), 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's Street is ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. In 2013, Life Style Sports became the official retail partner of

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...

, with a Life Style Sports shop 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. H ...

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

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, ...

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 shops nationwide. * 2000 –

Sienna Miller Sienna Rose Diana Miller (born 28 December 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 Cale ...

appears in the Life Style Sports

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

TV advert. * 2004 – The Killers' single

Mr. Brightside "Mr. Brightside" is the debut single of American rock band the Killers. It appears on their debut studio album, '' Hot Fuss'' (2004). Written by band members Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, it was one of the first songs the Killers ever wrot ...

debuts on the Life Style Sports TV advert. * 2005 – Company acquired by Stafford Holdings, an Irish family-owned company. * 2009 –

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

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 shops on Mary Street and in

Dundrum Town Centre Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping mall, shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Dundrum, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of Ireland's two largest shopping centres with over 131 shops, 47 restaurants, 3 amusement facilities ...

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