Where sports goods retailing is growing in the UK
564 sports goods retailing outlets across 3 brands are in the h3hex Data Store in the November 2026 release. In the local-area tables Birmingham has the most, with 8, or 0.1 per 10,000 residents; the top 25 local areas together hold 121 (21% of outlets with a mapped local area). The largest like-for-like net gain since the previous release is in ONS area E06000066 (+1).
Outlet and brand counts are the Data Store's: every brand on sale, with every outlet in its file. The local-area and growth tables count the trading outlets in h3hex's master dataset that map to a local area, so their totals can be lower.
Which local areas have the most sports goods retailing outlets?
| # | Local area | Outlets | Brands present | Per 10,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 8 | 2: Sports Direct, Nike | 0.1 |
| 2 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 8 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | 0.2 |
| 3 | Leeds | 8 | 3: Sports Direct, Nike, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 4 | County Durham | 6 | 2: Sports Direct, Nike | 0.1 |
| 5 | Glasgow City | 6 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | - |
| 6 | Manchester | 6 | 3: Sports Direct, Nike, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 7 | Cheshire West and Chester | 5 | 2: Sports Direct, Nike | 0.1 |
| 8 | ONS area E06000065 | 5 | 1: Sports Direct | 0.1 |
| 9 | ONS area E06000066 | 5 | 1: Sports Direct | 0.1 |
| 10 | Sheffield | 5 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 11 | Westminster | 5 | 2: Nike, Sports Direct | 0.2 |
| 12 | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Nike | - |
| 13 | Belfast | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | - |
| 14 | Croydon | 4 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | 0.1 |
| 15 | Greenwich | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Nike | 0.1 |
| 16 | Kirklees | 4 | 1: Sports Direct | 0.1 |
| 17 | Liverpool | 4 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | 0.1 |
| 18 | North Northamptonshire | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 19 | Southwark | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 20 | Waltham Forest | 4 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | 0.1 |
| 21 | Wandsworth | 4 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | 0.1 |
| 22 | Wiltshire | 4 | 1: Sports Direct | 0.1 |
| 23 | York | 4 | 3: Sports Direct, Decathlon, Nike | 0.2 |
| 24 | Ards and North Down | 3 | 1: Sports Direct | - |
| 25 | Barnet | 3 | 2: Sports Direct, Decathlon | 0.1 |
Local areas are local authority districts. Brands present shows how many brands have an outlet there and the five with the most.
Which local areas added the most sports goods retailing outlets?
| # | Local area | Net change | Previous release | This release | All outlets now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ONS area E06000066 | +1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 3 | Birmingham | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | Leeds | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | County Durham | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Manchester | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Glasgow City | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Cheshire West and Chester | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 9 | ONS area E06000065 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | Sheffield | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 11 | Westminster | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Net change in outlets for brands present in both releases, for local areas with at least 5 outlets in the sector. No brand in this sector is new to this release.
How these figures are made
Counts are h3hex's own store-by-store record of each brand's published UK locations for the brands listed in the Sports goods retailing sector of the h3hex data store, November 2026 release (scrape window 30 Oct - 3 Nov 2026), page built 2026-11-12. Closed, pre-opening and head-office records are left out. 1 outlets with no mappable postcode are counted in the totals but not in the local-area tables. 4 districts created in 2023 are shown by their ONS code because the postcode lookup used here carries no name for them. Net change compares this release with the 29 October 2026 edition of the same dataset and reflects openings and closures as well as improved coverage of each brand's own locator. Resident population is Census 2021 usual-resident population by output area, summed to local authority district through the ONS postcode-to-output-area lookup (May 2024). The population table does not join to the lookup for districts in Northern Ireland and Scotland, so outlets per 10,000 residents is shown as - for them.
Use the data
Prospect site reports assess a single address against these brands, and the data store sells the sports goods retailing store lists brand by brand or as a sector bundle.
More fashion apparel - general sectors
- All Fashion Apparel - General5,986 outlets · 55 brands
- Mid-market fashion1,414 outlets · 14 brands
- Footwear retailing1,401 outlets · 12 brands
- Off-price431 outlets · 2 brands
- Athleisure404 outlets · 2 brands
- Fast fashion355 outlets · 6 brands
- Accessories retailer203 outlets · 2 brands
How many sports goods retailing outlets are there in the UK?
h3hex tracks 564 branded sports goods retailing outlets from 3 brands in the UK as at the November 2026 release. In the local-area tables, Birmingham has the most, with 8.
Which sports goods retailing brands are growing?
Between the previous release and the November 2026 release, the brand adding the most outlets was Nike (+1).
Which sports goods retailing brands have the most UK outlets?
Sports Direct (472), Nike (52) and Decathlon (40), as at the November 2026 release.