Under-performing stores will shut, the new owner of the Blacks and Millets outdoor clothing and equipment outlets has warned.

JD Sports bought Blacks Leisure Group earlier this week for £20m in a so-called pre-pack administration, whereby a sale had already been lined up.

The move saved thousands of jobs, including dozens across Kent. But job losses seem inevitable as J D Sports, which has pledged to "rejuvenate" the brands, examines the financial performance of every outlet.

Blacks had debts of around £36m, operated 302 stores under the Millets and Blacks names and employed 3,500 people. It also owned the Peter Storm and Eurohike brands.

There are three Blacks stores in Kent - Bluewater, Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury - and six Millets outlets in Maidstone, Gravesend, Sittingbourne, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, and Canterbury.

Richard Fleming, joint administrator and UK head of restructuring at KPMG, said a pre-pack was required to rescue as much of the business as possible.

"Blacks has struggled, in tough economic conditions, to generate enough cash to service its high overhead costs.

"However, Blacks has a strong brand and accordingly generated a huge amount of buyer interest from some of the best known entrepreneurs and competitors in the market."