As Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley sets out his aggressive stance on European expansion, Retail Week looks at the sportswear market on the Continent.

Why are we talking about it?

Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is taking an aggressive stance on its international expansion and told analysts that he’s putting the message out to potential European retail partners that “If you don’t want to play, we’ll come to your country and smash you to bits.”

Who are the market leaders in Europe?

Buying group Intersport is Europe’s biggest sportswear retailer with €9.9bn across Europe, and is most prevalent in Germany. It is followed by French giant Decathlon, which has over 700 stores in 19 countries, and turns over €7bn. Buying group Sport 2000, which has 3,500 stores in 25 countries, turns over more than €5.1bn and is in third place followed by Sports Direct with just over £2.7bn in sales.

Who could Sports Direct have its eye on?

Potential targets include Europe’s fifth biggest sportswear retailer, French group Go Sport, which turns over €675m. The retailer has 6% share of the French market but is loss making. Sports Direct itself has six stores in the country and Liberum analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi said in a note earlier this year that it is difficult to see how it can break into the market in a meaningful way without an acquisition.

Vidyarthi also highlights Italian retailer Cisalfa as a target. Cisalfa, which is the master licensee for Intersport in Italy, holds 8% market share with sales of €361m.

Scandinavia is also likely to be on Ashley’s watch list. Norway has the highest per capita spend on sports goods in the world – more then three times the European average – according to sports industry website Sportsbransjen - and could be another target for Sports Direct. XXL is the market leader in Scandinavia and has a disruptive business model similar to Sports Direct. It focuses on aggressively low prices and brands.  It has been owned by investment company EQT since 2010. Vidyarthi points out that acquiring it is unlikely to come cheaply, but it seems like the most obvious entry into the region.

Has Sport Direct bought overseas before?

Yes. It bought Austrian group Sports Eybl & Sports Experts and the largest sports retailer in the Baltics, Sportland, last year. Rival JD has also been acquisitive to fuel its overseas expansion, snapping up French retailer Chausport, Spanish retailer Sprinter, Irish chain Champion and German retailer Isico Sports.

How big is Sports Direct’s European business?

Sports Direct operates in 19 countries across Europe. Not counting its acquisition last year it had 112 stores across Europe, with Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia its biggest markets. It has also revealed it intends to open in Australia and New Zealand.