Sports Direct

A Necessary Evil?
Due to our obsession with sporty people exercise gear etc is very expensive so its to no surprise that this place exists. A large warehouse trying to pose as a legitmate shop is what you will find past the 100s of closing down tomorrow signs. The floor plan design is pure claustrophobia and you will often be be stuck between a wall of trainers and an ex convict.
I have been to this place many times scouting for deals and almost always regretted it yet I keep coming back sigh. I feel this maybe because despite the awful shop design and the staff that make you seriously consider doubting evolution, its not as bad as some of the branded shops smarm and price. Are we as consumers stuck between a rock and hard place, maybe so as it would seem as we currently only seem to have the opposite extremes.
Maybe we all should take the risk and consider dipping our feet into more online footwear stores a bit more in the meantime.

«Please release me, let me go
For I don’t love you anymore
To waste our lives would be a sin
Release me and let me love again «-
To quote Engelbert Humperdinck, I simply don’t «love this branch anymore»
This store is just simply too big and crammed, they is a nice range here but still it is all crammed to such a point, is is hard to move around, and even see what is being sold — Getting down the isles is like World War Three, and honestly if you are coming with a pram or wheelchair, it just isn’t worth bothering to visit.
This store is just your typical sports direct in a way with everything so crammed together and hard to tell out different products, which is something I strongly oppose with the brand, I feel it makes them look really cheap, and in a bad way and this is one of the reasons I just don’t bother with Sports Direct anymore.
This store is over 2 floors with the «lower ground» floor having room to actually move, and a machine to measure your feet but still it isn’t the nicest of stores down their too, and the lift is quite old fashioned and poor.
The staff are very mixed, some being clueless and some being quite nice, which going along with everything I said just meets the SD franchise and means I can’t warrant giving any more stars than two.

Caution: This is not a place for claustrophobics or minimalists to enjoy a shopping trip — it’s jam packed full from floor to ceiling (literally) of almost every conceivable piece of sports and exercise-​related clothing, footwear and equipment.
My biggest tip would be to have a decent idea of what you’re looking for before you enter.
After getting over just how massive this two storey shop is, I eventually found the racks of sports kit I wanted to buy and was pleasantly surprised that they were an impressive 70% off. Admittedly, no one in their right mind would pay the full price, but what they were listed at was more than reasonable. Look out for the ‘2 for £X’ deals as well.
If you weren’t familiar with the store’s layout (which I wasn’t), you might struggle to find the tills at first as there don’t seem to be any signs directing you — they’re on the far right as you enter. The staff behind them are friendly and efficient so paying for things isn’t too stressful.
If you can bear the tidal wave of products on offer at Sports Direct, you’ll no doubt grab a bargain. If not, stick to couch-​based online shopping!

THIS PLACE IS MASSIVE!
…and crammed!
The shoes are stacked all the way to the ceiling on the shelving AND in the middle of the floor. It’s scary. I hope that no one ever falls over or taps any of the towers.
If you need something cheap and a certain brand, this place is likely to stock it.
There’s always a sale section — bargains always to be found!
The staff are lacking which is probably how they keep prices cheap but the tils always have someone present to keep the queues down.
I can’t really say much more than this which is why it’s 3*. Nothing special, nothing wrong.

Perfect if you’re just calling in to grab a bargain off the shelves. If you need to get trainers then you’ll have a problem as staff can take ages to get back with your size.
After finally catching someone to go check for me, they didn’t have size 9 or 10 on most of the shoes I pointed at (I asked for 10 different types) which was frustrating.
Good for price though, but stay clear if you can’t take disappointment.

My own personal hell. I am not a sporty person — as you will have gathered from my reviews, my time is (better) spent eating and drinking my way through cities, not exercising up a storm.
However, I have to be aware of what I’m taking in compared to the energy going out and, sigh, Sports Direct becomes something you just have to do. That and my company teambuilding is coming up and they have insisted on us going on some outward-​bound style adventure; cue me having no equipment and finding myself dragged into Sports Direct. Literally dragged. I wore no socks, I moped and moaned, but I didn’t get out of this experience.
Inside it’s claustrophobic to say the least — everything is everywhere. Deals are thrown at you at every opportunity and, if you get stuck behind a slow walker, good luck getting out — there is no way to move in a straight line. It’s like an obstacle course.
We managed to get the attention of staff quite quickly but this particular staff member seemed fairly unfocused, trying to deal with all customers at any one time rather than putting all his effort into one at a time. Cue us watching him walk around with chosen walking boots for 5 minutes without handing them over. Eventually he brought them over, watched me try them on (always disconcerting), then proceeded to upsell with some hiking socks. By this point I had already given up so took the socks and went to queue. And queue. And queue. You think you’ve been somewhere without a good queuing system? You aint seen nothin’ yet.
The only positives of this experience? The till service was eventually fast, friendly, and apologetic. That and the prices, which you just can’t argue with.
Please don’t make me go back.

This place is massive, lots of stock, prices arent bad.
One problem — staff and organisation! You ask for a trainer in a certain size, 20minutes later your still standing and waiting.
Please get more staff…

One point deducted for the place being a mess with little room to actually move around.
I jumped in here on impulse to find swimming trunks for the hotel I was staying in and ended up spending £45 on cargo pants, hats, socks, trunks and ¾ lengths.
SO cheap I might come back to Manchester with an extra bag to fill with sporting goods!
Everything is super cheap, but it’s all recognisable brands like Airwalk and Lee Cooper with a good selection of footwear.
Worth checking out.

Cheap. Very cheap. Maybe a bit too cheap. I don’t understand it. I mean obviously when I need a pair of trainers or a pair of trouser to run in, this shop is like heaven. The staff is also really nice to you. Even if the whole shop is a bit of a mess, they still help you out to find what you need. You can get socks, flags, key rings from them. You can find cool umbrellas or some nice trainers that you didn’t expect to find just for 15 quid or so.
I bought few hoodies and few t-​shirts as well and I’ve been impressed to see that the quality is awesome, you can wash them and still wear them for the fifth time without the material being disintegrated or something. Plus, it’s so easy to access it, just in the middle of Manchester, in Arndale as well. It’s quite big as well, so you can spend a lot of time buying lots of stuff. Happy shopping everyone.

Finally they made it bigger… the only Sports Direct, or Sports Soccer as it’s incarnation was once upon a time, was absolutely tiny, and so cramped as everything was, all you could do was move your head. High ceilings and no room to look was pointless. Now in it’s bright and airy location, you are free to roam the shop floor for discounted sports wear, some good value for money with brands like Nike, Adidas, even Reebok, other not so high end but equally gym worthy brands like Lonsdale and Everlast, oh and Russell Athletics, where you want decent quality gear but you don’t want to break the bank in buying it. There’s also the tat. The Tat tends to come in the women’s section, as everything has a tendency to lean towards pastel colours and hideous patterns, personally, I prefer to buy my gym gear from the boys sections as they are more workout friendly. Never understood working out in a second skin,…loose free material… stretching fabrics! That’s what you need.
Sometimes you can pick up a bargain, sometimes you can get a lovely hoody that would cost about £55 in JD or JJB for £26 here, and it’s brill doing that. Other times you can walk in and think lawd why on earth did you waste the material creating that piece of rubbish.
Hit and miss, sometimes there are bargains to be had, sometimes there are blatant reasons why everything is so cheap. Bits of everything from leisure trainers, running shoes, trackie bottoms, track suits, hoodies, tees, polo shirts, shorts, bags, football gear, rugby gear, ladies sports gear, swimming gear, golf equipment, socks, underwear, balls and sometimes novelty items.

Why is everything so cheap? What’s going on? Does anyone know, really?
Whatever the reason, Sports Direct offers more than you could ever want when it comes to sport, and for less than you could ever dream of. It’s like mana from the heavens ruled by a benevolent sports god.

A word before we start: sports and Becca don’t mix. It’s basic chemistry. Or something. We’re like orange juice and milk. We… curdle.
Anyway. I hate sport.
However, I recently realised that 2-​and-​a-​bit years of being blissfully in love have taken their toll. Though the boyf insists I am somewhat of a goddess, it is true what they say; you simply eat better when you’re happy. Specially when you’re an aspiring Nigella with a boyf who worships your culinary prowess. Anyway, I noticed I could do with a bit o’ gym time. So to Sport Direct I went, for sports… clothes.
BAH! It is rubbish. And chavvy. Sure, I could get some trackie b’s, but in horrendous colourways with ‘mesh panels’. Yeah, I could easily get trainers. In pink. Rank rank rank.
This shop is some cutprice hell of bargain basement crappy sports crap. It’s just… crap.
I ended up spending more than I wanted online, because after this, I couldn’t face entering another sports shop. BOO, Sport Direct.

I love Sports Direct! When you’re in search for the perfect hoodie and those perfect sweats and yes you want a Nike swoosh as well with a contradictory condition that you will pay less, walk right in, because this is the place to be!
Spread across a huge space, it very comfortably houses sports clothing to footballs to football club trinkets. It also has a humongous collection of sports shoes, football shoes and any sports shoes in question!
Now, here’s the best part about this place, the prices are dramatically low! A Reebok hoodie for just £16? Yes, it is real, cause’ its sitting in my cupboard at this moment. It home to Nike, Adiddas, Puma, Reebok and Lonsdale at half slashed prices. In case you’re looking for the latest jersey’s, this place is very apt for it as well and it works out cheaper!
It’s an amazing place to shop when your bitten by the sports bug!

Sports Direct is Manchester City Centre’s best sports shop by a country mile. Its one of those big warehouse style shops that usually are only found in retail parks on the edges of urban areas or in woeful suburbs. There’s an example of one just like this just outside Salford. This one is just as cheap, and right in the Arndale Centre, Manchester’s premier shopping venue.
The prices are really unbelievable, literally half the price of the same items in other big sports shops. You can pick up a good pair of Nike trainers here for little more than £20, and though you wont have the same selection, they have plenty to choose from. Some of them are last years range and that kind of the, but who cares, or even knows about that kind of thing?
You can get a football that you can actually play with for £3, and though it might not be premiership standard, its not a terrible fly-​away either, and you can buy 5 for the price of a Mitre ball elsewhere.
They do a good selection of football shirts too, including some rarer European ones.
Also cool is the selection of laces that they sell for £1. You can soup up your old shoes with a new pair, including some colourful ones (check out the black and red) and you’ll feel like Poalo Nutini for just a quid.
Five stars.

Everything in Sports Direct seems to be on sale with 70% off, all of the time, forever, the end. I just don’t understand how this business works!
Aside from that, as a customer looking for cheap sportswear or equipment, its fantastic. You can get general sports clothing, specialist sportswear for cycling, running, football, cricket, swimming, rugby and much more. And all at bargain basement prices.
True, this store was designed with the year 1997 in mind, when fluorescent Kappa jackets and Adidas poppers were all the rage, but if you like sports then there’s plenty of good stuff hidden amongst the swathes of hideous clothing.
I managed to pick up some Nike trainers for a reasonable £35, a good £5 cheaper than anywhere else. Also, I got a Karrimor backpack for a tenner. Again, a bargain.
Oh, and the umbrellas! Never, ever, ever buy a rubbish £10 umbrella from Accessorize that will flip inside out at the first sign of wind. Go to Sports Direct, and pay £3 for a massive Dunlop golf umbrella. You’ll find them near the door.
I’m sorry, but I like this shop. Sorry.

This shop is seriously amazing. I would have normally turned my nose up at it, thinking it was full of chavs and schoolkids but due to the hard times I went in to get some gym kit. Not only did I get a set of Nike gym clothes and a matching water bottle for less than £20 I also managed to pick up two pairs of Converse All Stars for a mere £5 each. I’m now debating if to post this or not as I want all the bargains for myself!

This is bargain central! They sell all famous sports brands at reduced prices as well as golfing equipment, footballs, and casual clothes. An ideal place to get trainers, clothes for the gym and other sporting activities. They also sell children’s clothing. If you have the patience, it is well worth walking around the whole store and routing through the racks, they sell men’s clothing from as little as £3−4! I would recommend anyone going on holiday to shop in here, its an ideal place to get all your bathing suits, shorts and t-​shirts! You wont come out empty handed!