Lids Goes International with London Stores

Sports apparel retailer Lids said Friday (Dec. 3) it will open four stores in London later this month, with more than 20 brick-and-mortar stores across the U.K. by the end of 2022, according to a news release.

“We have a large rollout plan,” Britten Maughan, president of Lids, said in the release. “London is a natural fit for Lids. The enthusiasm for both American sports and streetwear aligns with our on-field and fashion-focused hat and jersey assortment. We are excited to bring our brand and product to market.”

Lids opened its first London store last Friday (Nov. 26) in Seven Dials in Covent Garden. The second location at 02 Peninsula Square is expected to open within a few days, and the other two London-based Lids store will be in the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex and the Churchill Square Shopping Centre Russel Place in Brighton; both will open later this month.

Lids’ majority owner, private equity firm Ames Watson, has focused on international expansion as part of its strategic plan after buying the retailer with Meek Mill Partners and Fanatics for $125 million in 2019. Lids has almost 2,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as partnerships with Macy’s and Designer Brands for licensed team sports products in their North American stores.

It also operates the new National Hockey League flagship in New York City and the National Basketball Association flagship in New York. The company has annual sales of more than $1 billion. It has operated an NBA store in London’s Soho neighborhood in partnership with Fanatics since July and a Paris Saint Germain shop in Los Angeles.

Lids has expanded its store count and extended its partnerships with Macy’s and Designer Brands since Genesco sold the brand to Ames Watson and also launched private label headwear brands and added jerseys and apparel.

Related: Adidas Expects $1.2B Hit to Sales as Supply Constraints Rage On

Meanwhile, German sportswear giant Adidas said last month it’s expecting its sales to take a 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) hit over the next two quarters because of factory closures in Vietnam and supply chain bottlenecks that are expected to continue into the early part of 2022.