Dubai's Al-Futtaim sells Royal Sporting House to Gulf Marketing Group

DUBAI-BASED conglomerate Al-Futtaim, the parent company of department store operator Robinsons, is selling the entire business of Royal Sporting House.

The buyer is Gulf Marketing Group, a family-owned company in the Middle East. The deal comprises Royal Sporting House's operations in South-east Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in Hong Kong, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Gulf Marketing Group said it will operate over 550 sports retail stores in 12 countries following the acquisition. It will also operate 10 warehouses and employ nearly 8,000 people in total.

Gulf Marketing Group's sports portfolio includes Middle Eastern brands such as Sun and Sand Sports. The company is also a distributor for global brands like Nike, Columbia, Timberland and Vans.

The sale of Royal Sporting House coincides with Robinsons' withdrawal from the Singapore retail scene after 162 years. Its flagship outlet at The Heeren will shut on Wednesday, while the closure date for the store at Raffles City Shopping Centre has not been announced.

However, Al-Futtaim has been downsizing its operations in Singapore as early as 2016. Around that time, it made a number of closures, such as the Marks & Spencer outlet at Centrepoint, John Little at Marina Square and Tiong Bahru Plaza, as well as several Royal Sporting House outlets.