Retail news round-up on December 9, 2015: Sports Direct takes over upmarket gym in west London and Dobbies garden centre falls deep into red.

Sports Direct acquires upmarket gym in west London

Mike Ashley-owned Sports Direct has snapped up The Printworks Health Club & Spa, an upmarket gym in Olympia, west London, in an attempt to expand its business.

The gym comprises a 20-metre swimming pool, along with a sauna and a beauty spa.

Printworks charges between £73 and £92 per month for standard membership which includes access to sister operation the Weybridge Healthclub & Spa in Surrey.

Tesco’s Dobbies slides into huge loss amid rise in sales

Tesco-owned Dobbies garden centre fell £48m into the red from a pre-tax profit of £6.6m in the prior year after writing down the value of its stores.

The Scottish chain’s sales surged 8% to £153m in the 53 weeks to March 1.

It booked £54.4m in impairments on assets, including stores.

A Dobbies spokesperson said, “We are pleased with our full-year trading performance in 2014-15. This demonstrates that our strategy of putting plants and gardening first is working … Our strategy remains focused on our core categories of plants and gardening, which we are confident will fuel our growth in the future.”

Customers warned about internet fraud during Christmas shopping

British shoppers are being cautioned against online fraud as they are set to shop for Christmas.

One in 12 people have fallen prey to a scam, with this number poised to increase over the festive season, according to latest figures from Action Fraud

Victims have lost £9.5m to fraudsters over Christmas 2013, representing a 42% rise on the year before.

The highest number of frauds were reported on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and between December 20 and 23.



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