Sportswear retail giant Sports Direct is set to make its local debut.

Advertising boards at the recently-opened Mercury Towers in St Julian’s indicate that the popular brand is set to land in Malta.

The advertising states that Sports Direct is “coming soon”, with an area on the ground level of the new shopping complex seemingly being dedicated to the store.

Earlier this year, Hudson Holdings Limited, the holding company of Malta-based retailer Hudson Group, had announced that it was in talks with international retail company Frasers Group plc about bringing some of its brands to Malta, including Sports Direct.

The Sports Direct advertising boards at Mercury Towers

Based in the UK, Frasers Group is best known for trading predominantly under the widely popular sports retail brand Sports Direct. It also owns retailers such as Jack Wills, GAME, Flannels, USC, Lillywhites and Evans Cycles, as well as department store House of Fraser, where it gets the company's name from. The company was established in 1982 by Mike Ashley, and has since grown to become one of the UK’s largest sports-goods retailers.

Hudson Group had signed a non-binding letter of intent with Frasers Group, allowing the latter to make a “significant investment” in the business, an announcement on the Malta Stock Exchange had said.

At the time of the initial announcement, Hudson Group’s Board of Directors had said that its shareholders are “confident” that the partnership would “accelerate and further supplement the growth and expansion strategy of the business”, yet had also clarified that there was still “no certainty” that the negotiations would result in the conclusion of the transaction.

Given that advertising boards have been put up, negotiations have seemingly progressed in a positive manner.

Hudson Group already has a number of its brands with stores at Mercury Towers, including A|X Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Mango, NIKE, Urban Jungle, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Primarily involved in the sportswear and fashionwear sectors, Hudson Holdings was established in 2006, yet the group’s roots go as far back as 1987, when Hudson started selling NIKE in Malta. It represents a number of international brands locally, including the aforementioned brands as well as Intersport, Ted Baker, Converse, Crocs, and Kiabi, among others. It also has a direct retail presence in other European countries and in Africa, particularly through its homegrown sneaker brand Urban Jungle.