Just Sport Group

What Just Sport Group does

Just Sport Group is a privately held UK sportswear supply and retail management company headquartered in Durham, founded in 1993 (originally as the in-house brand Avec Sport) and operating since 2004 as the Official Professional Football Partner to Nike UK. Through its two divisions, Just Sport Pro Club (Nike-branded retail operations for professional clubs) and Avec Sport (proprietary sportswear brand), the group supplies kit, training wear and supporter merchandise and runs full retail and e-commerce operations on behalf of its partner clubs. Its infrastructure comprises a 20,000 sq. ft. distribution warehouse with in-house Tajima embroidery, Xpress Heat Press and DTF printing, supported by web portals for kit managers and POS systems providing real-time sales data to club commercial teams.

The company generates revenue from four streams: kit and sportswear supply to professional clubs (under Nike) and grassroots clubs (under Avec Sport and Nike); managed retail services running club stores end-to-end; e-commerce store creation, maintenance and fulfilment on behalf of clubs; and direct grassroots and trade distribution via avecsport.com. Pricing is unit-based for consumer kits (e.g., Sunderland AFC 22/23 Home Kit at £55 adult / £45 junior, with EFL number customisation at £14.95) and contract-based for club partnerships, with go-to-market executed through dedicated account management teams targeting UK professional football clubs across the English and Scottish leagues plus Northern Ireland. Customer concentration is moderate, anchored on long-tenured multi-year partnerships (e.g., 11 seasons with Bradford City, 10 with Preston North End until 2023, 4-year deals with Sunderland and Birmingham from 2020) balanced across 50+ professional clubs and a long-tail grassroots book, and the company has shown renewed product energy in 2023-2025 through athleisurewear (Enigma range), retro Kit Vault collections with Score Draw, and seasonal pop-up retail activations.

Name

Just Sport Group

Legal name

Just Sport Group

Website

https://justsport-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Just Sport Group is a Durham-based sportswear supplier and retail operator serving 50+ UK professional football clubs and thousands of grassroots clubs as Nike UK's Official Professional Football Partner and owner of the Avec Sport brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Football Club Sportswear Supply and Retail Services

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992), Sporting Goods Retailers (45911), Sporting Goods Retailers (459110)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Soccer Equipment Retail (CRAMAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Team Sports & On-Field Performance Apparel (CRAAAEAE), Team Sports Equipment & Apparel Distribution (CRAOAJAA), Soccer/Football Footwear & Apparel Retail (CRAMACAC)

Keywords

• Sportswear supply
• Kit supply
• Retail management
• Football merchandise
• Team apparel

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Kit Supply (Nike and Avec Sport): Supply of team kits, training wear, and sportswear to professional and grassroots football clubs through Nike partnership and in-house Avec Sport brand
2. Retail Store Operations Management: Full retail solution managing day-to-day running of club stores, including stock management, store operations, and staff. Takes away overhead and stress of managing retail sector for clubs
3. eCommerce Store and Fulfilment: Creation, maintenance and running of online stores on behalf of clubs, alongside fulfilment of all online supporter orders
4. Grassroots Club Supply: Supply of sportswear to grassroots clubs of all sizes, from clubs with 30 teams to 5-a-side teams, maintaining same high customer service levels

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Just Sport Group supplies sportswear and manages kit and retail operations for professional and grassroots football clubs across the UK. Through its Just Sport Pro Club division it holds the Official Professional Football Partner role to Nike UK (since 2004), providing Nike kit supply, full club store management, and e-commerce fulfilment, while its in-house Avec Sport brand designs, manufactures and distributes its own sportswear line to clubs and trade customers.

Product overview

Just Sport Group operates as a sportswear and retail solutions company with two core product divisions: Just Sport Pro Club (Nike partnership, retail operations) and Avec Sport (in-house sportswear brand). Pro Club provides official Nike kit supply and complete retail management for professional football clubs since 2004. Avec Sport is the Group's own brand sportswear line established in 1993, serving both professional and grassroots clubs. Services include in-house embroidery, DTF printing, eCommerce fulfillment, and 20,000 sq. ft. UK warehouse with next-day delivery capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Just Sport Pro Club Official Professional Football Partner to Nike UK since 2004. Provides Nike kit supply, full retail solution including stock purchasing, club store management, marketing support, and e-commerce services to professional football clubs.
• Avec Sport In-house sportswear brand of Just Sport Group since 1993. Designs, manufactures, and supplies sportswear to professional and grassroots football clubs, cricket clubs, and rugby clubs, offering complete control over product quality from design through production and distribution.
• Retail Store Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 professional clubs supplied through Nike partnership
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Score DrawminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with retro kit specialists Score Draw to open Kit Vault for Portsmouth FC 125th Anniversary celebrations, bringing fan favourite shirts back to life.
• The Social Co.minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Marketing agency partner who completed the Enigma Collection campaign for Avec Sport.
• Sunderland AFCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20204-year kit supply and retail operations partnership signed with Sunderland AFC in 2020 under the Nike brand.
• Nike UKflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004Just Sport Group has been the Official Professional Football Kit Supply Partner to Nike UK since 2004. This flagship partnership created Just Sport Pro Club as the retail and eCommerce arm of the business. The partnership enables supply of Nike products, access to Nike Europe's stock holding, branded fixtures and fittings, and professional store renovations.
• Aberdeen FCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004First retail and kit deal under the Nike partnership was announced with Aberdeen FC in 2004, marking the creation of Just Sport Pro Club.
• Portsmouth FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent retail and supply partnership with Portsmouth FC. Just Sport Pro Club manages retail operations and e-commerce for the club.
• Birmingham City FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial Retail Partners to Birmingham City FC. Just Sport runs the complete retail operation including store management and online store.
• Preston North End FCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer 10-year retail and kit supply partnership concluded recently.
• Hartlepool UnitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term kit supply deal signed in 2004.
• Fulham FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo stores opened in 2007 in conjunction with Nike UK. Just Sport supplied the club through their Europa Cup Final journey.
• Bradford City AFCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner11-season partnership comprising 5 seasons under Nike brand plus 6 seasons under bespoke Avec Sport partnership. Just Sport ran the club store at Valley Parade.
• Crystal Palace FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRe-launch of Avec Sport brand to professional game in 2012. Club achieved promotion to Premier League during partnership with record kit sales.
• Coventry City FCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner4-year supply and retail deal signed in 2015. Club won EFL Trophy in 2017 and achieved promotion to League 1 in 2018.
• Carrick RangerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent Official Kit Suppliers to Carrick Rangers in Northern Ireland.
• Score DrawminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Score Draw to open Birmingham City Retro Kit Vault, bringing iconic jerseys back including the 1972 'Penguin' Home shirt.
• BBCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAvec Sport products featured in BBC documentary 'Boot Dreams: Now or Never', providing training wear for players in the series.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Castore: British premium sportswear brand that has rapidly signed multi-year kit and apparel partnerships with Premier League and Championship clubs (Newcastle, Rangers, McLaren, F1 teams), competing directly with Just Sport Group's intermediary kit-supply model by offering clubs higher revenue-share terms and direct brand-to-club deals.
• Macron: Italian sportswear manufacturer that is one of the largest kit suppliers to professional football clubs across European lower divisions, signing direct contracts that compete with Just Sport Pro Club's intermediated model and with the Avec Sport in-house brand.
• Hummel International: Danish sportswear brand that holds kit supply contracts with multiple English and European football clubs (Charlton Athletic, Coventry City historically, various Scandinavian clubs), directly competing with both the Nike-via-Just-Sport and Avec Sport brand relationships for club apparel contracts.
• Erreà Sport: Italian sportswear manufacturer supplying kit, training wear and team apparel to hundreds of professional and semi-professional football clubs globally, representing the same intermediary-disrupting direct brand-to-club model that Just Sport Group both competes against (in non-Nike deals) and participates in (with its own Avec Sport label).
• Lovell Soccer: UK-based football-specialist retailer (formerly Direct Soccer) operating e-commerce and physical stores selling football boots, kits and teamwear, overlapping directly with Just Sport's grassroots and supporter-retail channels and competing for both end-consumer spend and grassroots club supply contracts.
• Pro:Direct Sport: UK-based premium sports retailer operating e-commerce and physical stores specialising in football boots, training wear and team kit, with overlapping product categories, supplier relationships (including Nike) and end-consumer football audience similar to Just Sport's grassroots and supporter-retail channels.

Broad incumbents

• Fanatics: US-headquartered licensed sports merchandise and trading-card platform that has acquired kit and merchandise rights for multiple European football clubs and leagues, representing a scaled, well-capitalised competitor to Just Sport Pro Club's club-store-management and e-commerce fulfilment services in the broader sports retail stack.
• Puma: Global sportswear brand with growing football portfolio (Manchester City, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, several Championship clubs), competing head-to-head with Nike/Just Sport for elite and second-tier club kit contracts and increasingly pursuing the same lower-league and grassroots opportunities as Just Sport Pro Club.
• Adidas UK: Global sportswear giant with direct kit-supply relationships with elite football clubs (Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, several EFL clubs), operating as a brand that can independently contract with clubs in a way that potentially bypasses intermediaries like Just Sport Group and competes for the same EFL and grassroots supply contracts.
• Frasers Group (Sports Direct): UK-listed mass-market sporting goods retailer owning Sports Direct and a portfolio of sports brands; while not a kit-supply specialist, it competes with Just Sport at the supporter-retail level through high-street sportswear stores and online channels for football boots, replica kit and athleisure purchases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/just-sport-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Sport Group