Frasers Group has opened its first two Sports Direct stores in Kenya, marking the British retailer’s African debut under the Sports Direct banner. The Nairobi openings run through Frasers’ partnership with Malta-based Hudson Group, which operates the stores and has said it intends to take the format further across the continent.
The stores sit in two of Nairobi’s established malls, covering 930 sqm at Sarit Centre in Westlands and 725 sqm at Galleria Mall on Langata Road, according to Retail Gazette. Both carry a multi-brand range including Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, New Balance and Asics, alongside Frasers’ own-brand portfolio of Everlast, Slazenger, Karrimor, Jack Wills and USA Pro. Each features Sports Direct’s running, football and outdoor concepts, which pair specialist ranges with in-store advice and digital tools.
To mark the launch, Galleria Mall hosted a three-day “sports village” from 30 October to 1 November, with brand activations including a Nike 100m speed challenge, an Adidas 3v3 football challenge and Everlast training sessions.
Hudson Group CEO Chris Muscat said the stores offer “a large format dedicated sports retail experience that gives the Kenyan customers access to world-class sports brands combining leading sports brands as well as more accessible and affordable offerings,” in a statement carried by Retail Gazette.
He added that the company looks “forward to building on this momentum as we expand Sports Direct across Africa.”
Frasers is not new to the continent
In November 2024 it acquired South Africa’s Holdsport, owner of Sportsmans Warehouse and Outdoor Warehouse, with 88 stores across South Africa and Namibia, and it has a separate agreement with Dubai-based GMG covering Sports Direct in the Gulf and Egypt. Kenya, though, is the first market where the Sports Direct name itself is trading on African soil, and it arrives through a partner rather than an acquisition. Frasers took a significant non-controlling stake in Hudson in October 2024, an arrangement that lets it test new markets using Hudson’s operating base without carrying the full cost of market entry.
Hudson doubles down on Nairobi
Hudson opened Nike’s first Kenyan flagship at Sarit Centre in May 2026, and now runs a multi-brand Sports Direct store in the same mall. Holding both the mono-brand flagship and the multi-brand shop gives Hudson leverage with suppliers and a clearer read on how Kenyan shoppers split their spending between premium and value.
Muscat’s emphasis on “accessible and affordable” offerings points to the real test, whether Slazenger and Karrimor price points can widen the customer base beyond the upper-income shoppers already served by brand stores in Westlands and Karen. If the Nairobi stores trade well, the more interesting question is where Hudson goes next, given its existing operations elsewhere in Africa, and whether Frasers eventually moves from minority partner towards a controlling position in the vehicle carrying its African expansion.
