10 October 2023 , 12:52
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Sports Direct has been mocked online by shoppers owing to a comical spelling error on their back-to-school stationery kits, which were mistakenly labelled as "stationary kits".
The glaring error was spotted by a customer shopping at a branch of the sports retailer in St Martins Quarter, Worcester, on Monday and led to some social media users to suggest executives at the sportswear giant should return to school themselves. Emma Trimble, a 43-year-old photographer from Worcester, discovered the incorrectly labelled stationery kits while shopping for her daughter's shin pads.
She said: "I had been looking for a new pair of shin pads for my daughter when I spotted them on the shelves - and I had to do a double take. I couldn't believe such a big company had made such an atrocious spelling error. There were some other stationery kits underneath in different packaging spelled correctly so at some point must have noticed but decided to sell them anyway."
The misunderstanding is a common error as the two words are often confused for one another. Stationary means not moving while its counterpart refers to writing materials - much more useful for kids going back to school. Social media posts indicate the same spelling error is being repeated across multiple branches nationwide.
One individual shared images of the kits on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: "I think the sales department of Sports Direct needs to go back to school. A stationary pack of stationery items." One individual remarked: "Well, those won't be going anywhere in a hurry."
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Another internet user commented: "I suppose they aren't really well known for their office range. Maybe they should just stick to giant mugs and cheap trackies." A third person added: "They couldn't decide if it should be "Stationary" or "Stationery", so Sports Direct are using both! #spelling #BackToSchool."
A fourth person stated: "Stationery with an E..not a great role model for school children's kit" Another individual said: "Maybe they called it stationary because it's going to remain on the shelves? Who's actually buying sports direct stationery?"
Sports Direct has been approached for comment.
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