Sports Direct has opened its brand-new, high-tech store inside the Manchester Arndale today – and it’s seriously impressive.
The five-storey flagship shop for the sports retailer is packed with interactive features, from fitness challenges to a bra-fitting studio.
The high-tech space has gadgets that will do everything from accurately measuring your foot size to testing your strength.
There’s even a bank of gaming PCs and consoles on the top floor, as a Belong Gaming Arena opens within the new Sports Direct shop.
Here, gamers can buy a single pass or sign up for unlimited play time for £15 a month, grabbing drinks from a slushy machine and snacks from a shop area.
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Sports Direct has taken over what was once the BHS department store within Manchester Arndale, a 50,000 sq ft site that’s been largely empty since 2016. It’s moved across from its previous unit just around the corner.
The display at the entrance. Credit: The Manc Group
Shoppers are immediately greeted by a DJ booth, a mirrored ceiling and rack after rack of sportswear.
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Brands including Adidas, Nike and Puma are all stocked, as expected, alongside other Frasers Group brands like Jack Wills and USC.
Game has a huge presence up on the top floor, where shoppers can also get their clothing purchases customised.
Click or swipe through the gallery below to see more from Manchester’s new Sports Direct store
Sports Direct Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupThe bra studio. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Belong Gaming Arena. Credit: The Manc GroupA wall of balls. Credit: The Manc GroupThe putting challenge. Credit: The Manc GroupDiving mannequins. Credit: The Manc GroupManchester City kits. Credit: The Manc GroupAnother challenge in Sports Direct Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupGame. Credit: The Manc GroupPS5s in Sports Direct Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupSpecialist boxing clothing. Credit: The Manc GroupYou can get items customised in store. Credit: The Manc GroupHockey equipment. Credit: The Manc GroupA strength challenge. Credit: The Manc GroupJack Wills. Credit: The Manc GroupThe women’s floor. Credit: The Manc Group
There’s kit on sale for every sport from hiking to running to skateboarding to hockey to cycling to fishing to boxing to tennis to rugby to golf to swimming, plus a huge astroturfed area dedicated to football.
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In the football zone, you can try on a massive range of football boots while sitting in dugout-inspired seats, with rival mannequins dressed in City and United kits propped up on rotating plinths.
It’s not just about the shopping in here either. Sports Direct has brought a whole load of interactive games and challenges to Manchester.
You can test your golf skills at a Putting Challenge, flex your footwork at a miniature sit-down football pitch, and show off your upper body strength by doing dead hangs from a bar for as long as possible.
The bra studio features a unique multi-brand bra finder tool, which can suggest the right size and shape for your sport, whatever brand you go for.
Sports Direct’s Chief Executive Michael Murray said: “Manchester is a significant location for the group, and we’re excited to be opening our next flagship in the city.”
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The huge new Sports Direct store in the Manchester Arndale is open now.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Shopping
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation to open in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation is set to open its doors in Manchester very soon.
Since it was first founded in Los Angeles all the way back in 2009, Reformation has gone on to become one of the largest sustainable womenswear brands on the planet, and is now known and loved for making beautiful, timeless apparel and accessories that aim to ‘inspire confidence’ across life stages and occasions.
Operating on a business model that pairs a smart approach to merchandising with a responsive supply chain, Reformation now operates more than 70 retail stores across the US, UK, Canada, and France.
At the heart of the Reformation story is a genuine commitment to ‘doing things differently’.
Since day one, sustainability has been woven into everything the brand makes – from the eco-certified fabrics and responsible factories, to its famously transparent sustainability reports.
Currently, Reformation has five UK stores to its name – but, it may come as no surprise to fans of the brand that they’re all in London.
That’s why the news of this new Manchester opening is such a big deal.
Set to be the label’s first UK store outside of the capital, Reformation has secured a prime spot on King Street in the heart of the city centre, and although there’s no confirmed opening date as of yet, if the shop windows saying ‘Summer 2026’ are anything to go by, we can only imagine it’ll be very soon.
“For Manchester, it’s a landmark moment, and for King Street, it’s the latest signal that this is one of the UK’s most exciting retail destinations,” a spokesperson for King Street said in a statement.
Stay tuned for details on opening dates to be announced in due course.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Shopping
Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis
Emily Sergeant
A series of ‘everyday fixes’ to help combat the rising cost of living crisis are soon to be rolled out nationwide.
Kicking off with two measures today, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that he plans to ban retailers from making ‘misleading’ claims to customers about discounts.
The Government says shoppers have ‘increasingly complained’ about outlets artificially inflating prices to give a false sense of value, such as increasing prices only to then immediately advertise ‘discounts’ to make savings look larger than they really are, which goes on to create an uneven playing field for honest competitors.
The Prime Minister also wants to see an end to so-called ‘subscription traps’, where people find it hard to cancel their subscriptions, and contracts are automatically renewed at a higher cost.
Set to come into force in January 2027 and saving people an average of £14 a month for every unwanted subscription, the changes will mean businesses will need to provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders. and a ‘much easier’ exit to contracts.
Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis / Credit: gov.uk | Piotr Cichosz (via Unsplash)
A new 14-day cooling-off period will also be introduced to let consumers cancel after a trial or long-term contract renews.
Certain charitable memberships, like the ones for cultural and heritage organisations for example, will be excluded from the new subscription rules due to the fact they have a unique role in preserving the nation’s history, landscapes, and cultural collections.
The Prime Minister says he is ‘determined’ to use every chance he gets to restore fairness and take pressure off people.
“I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps,” Andy Burnham said. “Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life, but I don’t think that’s right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people’s lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
24th March 2023 
