Sports Direct bosses have reportedly increased prices after closing the stores (Picture: PA)

Retailer Sports Direct has reportedly hiked prices of some equipment by more than 50%, as staff say they are still being forced to go to work amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Mike Ashley’s company detailed the price increase of the sports equipment, which includes skipping ropes, weights and resistance belts, in documents seen by PA news agency.

It comes after bosses at Frasers Group, which also owns Evans Cycles, made a dramatic u-turn and decided to close stores today, after yesterday vowing to defy Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s UK-wide lockdown. Bosses defended the decision, saying their services were essential to keep the nation fit and healthy amid the outbreak – despite other stores such as JD Sports announcing their closure.



Sports Direct sent a document to staff today, which shows the equipment lines which are set to have price increases applied. Due to the fact the company operates a system of having ‘ticket’ prices, followed by ‘reduced’ stickers, it can be unclear what price a product was ever sold at.


Bosses announced they would close today despite vowing to defy the PM’s lockdown yesterday (Picture: PA)

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The documents show that an Everlast 4kg kettle bell has gone up from £9.99 to £14.99 – although the sticker will still say the ‘original’ ticket price was £19.99.

The cost of a 12kg kettle bell by Everlast, which is owned by Sports Direct’s parent company Frasers Group, is understood to now cost £39.99, up from £29.99.

A Frasers spokesperson said: ‘While some goods have seen an increase in price at Sports Direct, this is not the complete or accurate picture. Not only were these goods originally discounted, but even now they are under the RRP.

‘In regard to the rest of the Group facias – including Flannels, House of Fraser and USC – there continues to be a 20% discount on all online sales until mid-April.’

Meanwhile, outraged Sports Direct employees have said they feel their lives are ‘undervalued’ because they are still being made to work despite government advice to stay at home unless you are an ‘essential’ worker. The company said its factories and warehouses will remain open and deliveries to customers will continue, all with social distancing in place.

Staff at Jack Wills claim they were told to work today (Picture: PA)

An anonymous employee said full-time shop staff are being told they have to work in-store despite the closures in order to receive their wages, ‘doing tasks they deem as essential such as valuations for stock and web orders’.

‘Part-timers are out of work now and we have no idea whether we can claim anything because technically they are still open,’ they added.

Another worker, who also wished to remain anonymous, said they have been with Sports Direct since they were 16, adding that their partner is also employed by the company.

‘While everyone else slated the company, the flexibility for me as a student and then a parent has always been great,’ they said. ‘However, I cuddled a scared and confused five-year-old to bed last night knowing that his mum and dad could risk potentially bringing in the virus for the sake of some fitness equipment.’



The worker added that the company has not provided protective equipment and only recently heeded social distancing advice.

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‘There have been no gloves sent to store and they only yesterday asked us to put a metre distance between ourselves and the customers by setting out a table for the chip and pins,’ they claimed.

Factory worker Leonnie Foster, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, said she will have to continue in her role despite the announcement.

‘We are expected to go into work with thousands of others and, due to the nature of the job, it is unrealistic to stand two metres away from people at all times,’ the 18-year-old said.

‘I feel massively at risk and I feel like my health, life and family, as I still live at home with my parents and sister, are undervalued.

‘There are more workers at the factory than in shops so our chances of getting this virus are much higher… the factory needs to shut as well to protect all the staff.’

A note on the door of Sports Direct informs customers that the store is temporarily closed, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues (Picture: Reuters)

A 21-year-old supervisor said managers at their store are meeting on Tuesday to await news on whether they will need to continue working despite shop closures.

‘I am outraged to work and commit to a company for over three years to be given no consideration for our health at all,’ they said.

‘I am going to think very carefully if this is a company I want to stay with and I will be seeking something else when this is all over for sure.’


Meanwhile, another of the group’s companies, Jack Wills, is said to also be forcing staff into shops.

In one message sent to staff on Tuesday morning, the company is said to have written ‘we will not open our Sports Direct or Evans Stores to the public’, before adding ‘please continue to head into work as we have been instructed last night’.

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One member of staff at Jack Wills said that workers are sitting in stores waiting for instructions and feel ‘disrespected’ by bosses’ actions.

They said: ‘We feel like we’re putting ourselves and others at risk by not staying at home like the Government has told us to. I’ve got colleagues feeling frustrated and angry.

‘We feel disrespected by Mike Ashley’s decisions to try and keep the company trading. The lack of communication and plan when they knew this was likely is embarrassing.’

The retailer said it is contacting the government ‘at all levels’ in an attempt to get confirmation from the Prime Minister.

It comes after politicians hit out at the business for its plan to keep stores open after the PM’s shut down orders, with Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery telling company majority owner Mr Ashley to ‘take some responsibility’ and ‘shut up shop’.

According to leaked documents the sports store has hiked up prices after shutting shop (Picture: Getty)

The group wrote to all workers within 30 minutes of Mr Johnson’s decision to shut down non-essential retailers, telling them its position selling sporting and fitness equipment made it a vital asset during a national shutdown.

In the original letter, chief finance officer of Frasers Group, Chris Wootton, said: ‘Against the backdrop of the closure of gyms the demand for these types of products has increased exponentially as the population looks to maintain a healthy lifestyle.


‘Consequently, we are uniquely well placed to help keep the UK as fit and healthy as possible during this crisis and thus our Sports Direct and Evans Cycles stores will remain open where possible to allow us to do this (in accordance with the Government’s current social distancing guidance).’

However, following the backlash he back-peddled on the decision and said Sports Direct and Evans Cycles stores will not open.

He said in a ‘clarification’ that they will remain shut, despite stating that Government policy ‘excludes bicycle shops from closure’. Stores will not re-open until ‘given the go-ahead by the Government’, he added.

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