The History of Pro:Direct Sport

Humble Beginnings

Torre Sports Opens in 213 Higher Union Street Torquay.

The shop opens to offer the people of Torquay a new sports shop. To rival the local shops of Sangster Sports & Fletcher Sports. The High Street Rivals.

Sport Unit 3

Sport Unit 3 Opens. The ‘Shop’ opens up with the Torquay Indoor Market. The Shop was called ‘Sport Unit 3’ and was open 6 days week. Half Day Wednesday. Sport Unit 3 was opened to ensure an outlet to clear stock from Torre Sports so Torre Sports could retain its position of having the latest and the best product within Sports retail as their customer offering.

Sports Connection @ Jonathan Peers

‘Sports Connection @ Jonathan Peers’ is opened. This was the first foray into the main HighStreet of Torquay.

With the Fleet Street Redevelopment still going through planning approval an opportunity arose to sub-let a Unit in 66 Fleet Street. Although this store was meant to last just one summer, due to planning delays the store was able to stay open from 1985 – 1987. The Store offered a blend of the best performance product aligned with the high fashion sportswear brands of the time as such Ellesse, Fila and Tacchini.

Growth and Expansion

1a Torre Sports Fleet Street opens up. This new unit was the smallest unit of the street level shops that were finally opened after the 2 year build of the new ‘Fleet Street’ shopping Centre. It was from this tiny store that ProDirect Soccer was born.

Starting Mail Orders

Torre Sports, Higher Union Street starts Torre Sports Mail Order Tennis focusing on clothing lines such as the Nike Andre Agassi collections as well as Top Performance product and footwear

The Birth of Pro:Direct

Torre Sports, Fleet Street starts ‘ProDirect Soccer - The Professionals Choice’ . Starting as mail order, specialising in Premium Football Boots and Goalkeeping Gloves that were very hard to source from the High Street.

Pro:Direct Goes Online First

ProDirect Soccer launches its first e-commerce website.

Torre Sports Tennis Mail Order is rebranded ‘ProDirect Tennis’.

Specialising in New Sports

Pro:Direct began specialising in new sports, starting with Rugby in 2004 and then further expansion into Running and Cricket later on.

Soccer Europe Expansion

The first translated Western European site goes live to furnish the German marketplace. Followed by France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Poland, each translated in the native tongue of each country.

A warehouse was opened in Frankfurt to provide next day delivery throughout Western Europe.

Heading to the States

The US Soccer website goes live, serving the entire United States with the latest and greatest Soccer products.

The first warehouse opens in Atlanta to provide next day delivery throughout North America.

LDN19 Opens

Pro:Direct hits the high street in a first of its breed bricks and mortar with LDN19, starting the process of bringing the engagement and content of the website to physical retail.

LDN19 was at Foubert's Place, Just off Carnaby Street in London.

Partnering with the PFA

Pro:Direct Soccer partnered with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) in 2016. This partnership aimed to provide professional footballers with access to Pro:Direct Soccer’s extensive range of football products and support their careers both on and off the pitch. The collaboration also included initiatives to engage with and support PFA members through various events and programs.

Teplice Warehouse Expansion

In 2017, Pro:Direct Sport expanded its operations with a significant warehouse expansion in Teplice, Czech Republic. This move was part of the company’s strategic efforts to enhance its logistics capabilities and better serve its growing customer base across Europe and beyond.

The new facility in Teplice allowed Pro:Direct to increase its storage capacity and improve its distribution efficiency, ensuring faster delivery times and a more streamlined fulfilment process. The expansion was a response to the rising demand for Pro:Direct’s extensive range of sports products, particularly in the football sector, where the company has a strong market presence.

Supporting Grassroots with Clubhouse

After many years of servicing Grassroots Football, Pro:Direct launched Clubhouse in 2020. Clubhouse rewards football clubs when their community shops at Pro:Direct. Since the launch of Clubhouse over £125,000 has been earned by participating grassroots clubs.

Clubhouse Pro launched in 2022 which saw Pro:Direct become the kit supplier for professional football clubs in the EFL. Early pro clubs to sign up were Salford City, Exeter City and Swindon Town

Partnering with the ESFA

In 2021 Pro:Direct partnered with the ESFA with the goal of helping to get more kids playing football. As well as kitting out the senior England Schools' squads in premium Nike kits, Pro:Direct sponsored Schools Football Week and helped to double the number of girls taking part between 2022 and 2024

100,000 5 Star Reviews

Customer satisfaction has always been the reason for Pro:Direct's success through the decades. In September 2023 Pro:Direct Sport hit 100,000 5 Star Reviews on Trustpilot, the UK's leading independent customer review site. As a result of this impressive number of extremely happy customers Trustpilot recognises Pro:Direct with their highest rating and describe Pro:Direct as 'Excellent'.

1 Million on YouTube

Reaching 1 million subscribers on YouTube is a historic milestone in Pro:Direct Soccer’s growth, underscoring our evolution from a local sports retailer to a global brand. This achievement highlights our successful digital engagement strategy, solidifying our reputation as a leading authority in the football community and expanding our global influence.

PD:FC Manchester Store Opens

Pro:Direct Sport has opened its world-first PD:FC concept store in Manchester, marking the launch of a new flagship retail format for the football specialist.