Myprotein and Frasers Group team up to boost in store sales
The company behind fitness supplement brand Myprotein has revealed a new partnership with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group which will see its products available in-store at Sports Direct.
THG, which owns brands including Myprotein and CityAM, said the new partnership would help to grow its offline presence amid a major rebrand of the nutrition business.
The company said that rebranding across the Myprotein range was progressing well, with around 80 per cent of products planned to be under new branding by the end of Q3 2024.
It added that offline retailers were responding “especially well” to the new look, with major listings now live across key territories.
These include both Costco and GNC in the US, as well as across UK grocers, Boots and WHSmith.
As part of the agreement with Frasers Group THG has also agreed to sell its portfolio of luxury goods websites, including www.coggles.com, to the Frasers Group.
Ingenuity will continue to support the brand portfolio across technology, digital marketing and fulfilment services post-disposal.
In a statement following its annual general meeting, THG said: “From a standing start almost 11 years ago, THG’s luxury division grew to c. £43m sales and broadly break-even for FY 2023, despite a broader challenging luxury market.
“This has only been possible through the hard work and dedication of THG’s luxury team, to whom we all want to extend our thanks and gratitude.”
The Manchester-headquartered company, which also owns Ingenuity, reported continuing currency revenue growth of 4.5 per cent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
It said: “The Group has made further progress in H1 2024 in line with previous revenue guidance, and Q2 will represent the third consecutive quarter of year-on-year revenue growth.
“The group’s performance is underpinned by positive trading within the Beauty, external Ingenuity and offline Nutrition businesses, which have helped offset continuing FX headwinds within Asia. Guidance for FY 2024 remains unchanged.”
Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “On the face of it, Frasers entering a payments and logistics partnership with THG might not seem exciting, but this could be strategically important for Mike Ashley’s empire.
“Frasers has already shown it is good at selling products to consumers, now it wants to be a bigger player in the payments game. Having THG as a partner gives it a shop window to show off its skills and potentially encourage more shopkeepers to sign up.
“Frasers is hoping third party retailers will use its buy now, pay later product as that would provide an additional income stream. The proposition is already live with Frasers’ own retail brands and signing up THG is a big step forward as it represents its first external partner.
“Rival retailer Next made £163 million profit from its credit offering over the past financial year, demonstrating the value of doing more than simply putting products on shelves and getting them into consumers’ homes. That’s a decent contribution to its group profit and certainly something that will have caught Frasers’ eye.
“While it’s unusual for a retailer to offer financing to rivals, Frasers clearly sees an opportunity given how consumers are increasingly using buy now, pay later as a purchasing channel. It means Frasers could still clean up even if people are not buying its physical products.”