FROM footie shirts, tennis rackets, backpacks to every type of trainer imaginable – there's probably very little Sports Direct don't sell in their huge warehouse-style shops.
Love them or hate them, they're one of the country's biggest sports retailers – and as a result their target audience is extremely broad and varied.
Which means it makes for an interesting place to work, with plenty of amusing and entertaining customer interactions to make the day fly by.
Masters student Lauren Hill, 24, lives in Stirling, and has been working as a retail sales assistant in Sports Direct since February, specialising in footwear.
Here she shares an interesting insight into the working day – from 'junkie' customers, creepy comments, to the annoying questions she's asked daily…
Till trauma
Because Lauren's role is so customer-facing, she gets to meet a lot of interesting people every day – which can be both a positive, and a negative.
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She says: "I talk really highly of my job because I genuinely love it, and I think people would be surprised to know that Sports Direct is actually a good company to work with.
"However, when I first started I was stuck on the tills all day and honestly hated my life – so I moaned and cried until they put me on footwear and I’ve never looked back.
"It involves more interaction with customers and 90 per cent of the customers that come into Sports Direct are lovely.
"I had an elderly couple come in for some swimming shoes for their grandchildren and after I had served them the woman asked if she could give me a hug for my patience.
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"I was close to crying because it’s not often I get a hug from a gran because I’m from Northern Ireland so all my family are back there!"
Own goal
Not everyone is a delight to serve, however.
Lauren admits: "The worst part of the job is the more difficult customers who go out their way to be a 'Karen' on most days.
"I have quite a lot of tattoos which attract a few, telling me how I’ve ruined myself and won’t get a ‘proper’ job.
"I’ve had a few run ins with what we call 'junkies' – the people that come in either drunk or high on ‘life’.
"We had a man come in rubbing tin foil on the security tag of a Man City top.
"When we caught on he said he was trying to rub a stain off the top and said he wouldn’t be buying it because of this stain – even though there was no stain, and at least 10 more tops in the same size and style…
"I’m also not really a morning person so you can imagine my 6am starts aren’t great – my eyes aren’t working until at least 10am, or after a few Red Bull."
Lucky strike
There are also some common – and not so common – questions customers ask too.
Lauren says: "We had a customer come in once and ask one of the boys 'how much is this?' and point at the bin.
"When we told him it’s a bin to use in the shop he said we probably shouldn’t have it on shop floor then, as people will think it’s to be sold.
"I also had a woman ask me when I first started working in Sports Direct if we sold Balenciagas as I was wearing my triple s’.
"When I told her we didn’t sell them, she asked to try mine on because she always wanted a pair but didn’t know what size she was.
"I politely declined!"
'Is it hot in here, or is it just you?'
Lauren adds: "I also get the flirty and creepy customers too.
"I once had a man follow me around the shop just to ask 'is it hot in here, or is it just you?'
"Yes, the aircon is broken – and yes I am hot!"
"I’m also very tanned right now with having the heatwave and then I use sunbeds sometimes.
"Whenever customers comment on my tan and ask where I’ve been I try to be quite exotic about it and tell them I’ve been abroad, but in reality it’s a 12 minute holiday at the tanning shop!"
Tall order
Finally, the burning question we all wonder when staring up at that one top we'd like to buy, on a rail 15ft up the wall – why are the products stored so high?
Lauren says: "I wish I knew! I’m going to assume the more stock we have in store the higher chance we have of selling it.
"If you think that’s high you should see the stockroom.
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"I’m 5ft 6in and sometimes I’m on my toes on the ladder trying to get shoes down.
"Sometimes I have to ask one of the boys to get it for me because I’m not a fan of heights."
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