What does Sports Direct takeover mean for Aylesbury's House of Fraser store?

Currently thousands of jobs remain under threat at House of Fraser, after the chain of department stores was forced to file for administration.

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has reportedly agreed to pay £90million for the chain - which includes an Aylesbury Friars Square Shopping Centre store which was already scheduled for closure.

It is unclear what Mr Ashley's plans are for the chain - but the move could in theory offer a reprieve for staff and customers.

Paul Souber, Co-Head of Colliers International’s Retail division, which monitors the industry, said: “With the latest news that Mike Ashley has just purchased House of Fraser today, on the one hand, this could be viewed as positive news for high streets nationwide as despite the doom and gloom sentiment surrounding the sector at present, this is really a boost in confidence for both landlords and retailers as well as employees in the trade, who were due to potentially lose their jobs.

“In addition, it will be interesting to see how Sport’s Direct’s multichannel experience could help to turn around House of Fraser’s department stores’ ill-fate. As we are all well aware, retailers and landlords are facing the most challenging environment since the post global financial crisis of 2008, driven by changing consumer trends, higher inflation, lower consumer spend and changing shopping habits. Over the past year, there’s been a raft of store closures, administrations and CVAs being announced, which in part, has been blamed on the increasing online and social media retail space. Retailers that provide the right experience and service are really adapting the way that people shop, and as a result, are changing the requirement for the bricks and mortar store so it would be interesting to understand Sports Directs’ take on this and whether they really relish the challenge and are able to adapt House of Fraser’s customer experience through online, physical and social sales, in order to keep apace and meet the consumers requirements of today perhaps utilising in part the Flannels facia.”