On 1 October 2019, the CMA announced that it had referred JD Sports’ completed acquisition of Footasylum for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation. The parties sell sports-inspired casual clothing and footwear. This follows the CMA’s announcement on 19 September 2019 that the transaction could remove one of JD Sports’ closest competitors. It considered the parties to be two of a small number of companies active in the UK that have the brand relations and market presence to be able to credibly meet the demands of sports fashion customers. The statutory deadline is 16 March 2019.