Bury based and Sports Wear Retailer JD Sports along with Footasylum have been fined a combined £4.7 million for breaching an order that prevented both the merged firms from integrating further.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which had last year ordered JD to unwind its purchase of Footasylum due to competition concerns, said the two companies had exchanged commercially sensitive information in breach of its order.

According to the organisation during two meetings, which took place on 5 July 2021 and 4 August 2021, Peter Cowgill, CEO of JD Sports, and Barry Bown, CEO of Footasylum, exchanged commercially sensitive information and then failed to alert or promptly alert the CMA.

During these meetings, they discussed,Footasylum’s issues with stock allocations from key brands,information about Footasylum’s financial performance,the planned closure of six Footasylum stores, with the locations of at least two being revealed,Footasylum’s contract negotiations with its transport and delivery provider and contract negotiations for the renewal of Footasylum’s head office space.

Kip Meek, Chair of the inquiry group investigating the merger, said:

There is a black hole when it comes to the meetings held between Footasylum and JD Sports. Both CEOs cannot recall crucial details about these meetings. On top of this, neither CEO or JD Sports’ General Counsel can provide any documentation around the meetings – no notes, no agendas, no emails and poor phone records, some of which were deleted before they could be given to the CMA.

Had there been proper safeguards in place, we would have been alerted to these breaches in good time and would have had the necessary information to tackle them head on.

It jeopardised our ability to maintain the benefits of a competitive market for shoppers and ensure there is a level playing field for other businesses. This fine should act as a warning – if you break the rules there will be serious consequences.

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