Jarrolds has acquired the Venturesport retail business. Venturesport has been a leading specialist retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment in Norfolk for over twenty years.

Jarrolds will move the business from its current location on Westlegate in Norwich to the Pilch Sports shop on London Street and will incorporate it with and extend the existing outdoor department. This will create Norwich’s leading sports and outdoor specialist store, with over 8,000sq.ft. of clothing and equipment from the major suppliers in these two categories.

Peter Mitchell, Managing Director of Jarrolds Retail Division, explained the rationale behind the acquisition and the move :

“We know that customers looking for specialised kit for sports and outdoor activities want high performance products from the big brand names. They want expert advice from staff who share their interest, and they also want great value for money. We have been successful in bringing this recipe to customers with Pilch Sports since we acquired it in 2005, and now want to do the same with the outdoor business.”

“By locating the business within the same building as Pilch Sports, Venturesport will benefit from a new, larger and recently refurbished sales floor. There will be a bigger choice and a better environment for browsing. By adding Venturesport’s long experience in sourcing great value deals and the product knowledge of their sales team to the existing skills in our Pilch team, we will be able to give an exciting boost to both businesses.”

“It is our aim to create the leading specialist destination store for sports, outdoor clothing and equipment, and skiwear in Norfolk."

All Venturesport staff will relocate to the new store.

Pilch and Venturesport will both trade within Jarrold Retail Division.