Sports Direct and Tesco are thought to be in advanced talks over a space-sharing plan at some of the grocer’s biggest stores.
The sports chain, controlled by Newcastle United FC owner Mike Ashley, could take the mezzanine floors in three of Tesco’s UK hypermarkets and is looking at other opportunities, according to the Financial Times.
The move would allow Sports Direct to benefit from customer traffic to Tesco, while for the supermarket it would be able to shed space to a non-competing retailer.
Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke is thought to be grappling with what do with many of the chain’s larger stores as demand for non-food items moves to the internet and consumers switch to smaller, local stores.
Tesco has already acquired restaurant chain Giraffe and coffee business Harris + Hoole with a view to rolling out the brands in larger stores.
A refurbishment in the Czech Republic cut the size of a hypermarket by 30,000 sq ft, with Sports Direct taking the bulk of the excess space.
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