Could new Sports Direct on The Moor in Sheffield be one of 10 regional flagships?

The discount chain is set to open in the former TJ Hughes department store on The Moor.

Local shopkeepers said the launch date had been pushed back to July because of a problem with the sprinklers.

The company did not respond to The Star.

But new chief executive of Frasers Group Michael Murray has said he wants 10 ‘big regional, experiential stores’ and has insisted Britain’s High Streets are not ‘dead’.

Mr Murray told the BBC: "I believe if you give people a reason to come and shop, they will shop. They've just not had a reason for the past few years.”

But he admitted prices will probably rise.

London's Oxford Street store was the first new-look Sports Direct, unveiled last year.

Birmingham's new branch, which opens on Friday, looks like a high-tech department store for sport and fitness - a world away from traditional stores. It includes an E-sports gaming room, a sports bra fitting service, as well as Evans Cycles and a Game concession.

"It's cost more than £10m. It's a huge investment in the High Street," Mr Murray said.

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The new shop on The Moor will be a shot in the arm for what is today Sheffield’s premier retail zone.

Despite still being busy, it has suffered some closures including a Jack Fulton frozen food and a Bright House opposite the new Sports Direct.

Last summer, the company submitted plans to Sheffield City Council to erect signs for Sports Direct, USC, Game, Adidas and Nike, stating the shop on The Moor would be converted into a ‘USC and Sports Direct’.

It is set to close its existing outlet at 50 High Street in July. Discount supermarket Lidl will take over two floors of the seven-floor building, which is up for sale for £9.75m.

Marketing information by Sanderson Weatherall states Sports Direct will be out by July 29. Lidl has signed a 25-year lease.

TJ Hughes, which bills itself as the ‘discount department store’ has stood empty since it announced it would close in February 2020.

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