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JD Sports is leading a sprint finish on Britain’s high streets as it announces an 81% leap in profits for the the year to 28 January. As other retailers continue to struggle with a weak pound, wage increases and the pull of online shopping – now accounting for 40% of all fashion sales - the group saw pre-tax profits rise to £238.4m last year.
The group’s success has, in the main, been attributed to the ongoing boom in the athleisure market, and its ability to capitalise on this, mainly through the strength of its relationships with sports brands. Its exclusivity deals with the likes of Nike, Adidas and North Face, helps to attract customers, despite competition from its online rivals. It also means the group can charge higher prices. Like-for-like sales grew 10% over the year.
JD Sports now has 900 outlets in the UK with the “clear strategic focus” of its international expansion playing a key part in the group’s growth. It opened 54 stores across Europe last year and a further two stores in Malaysia. Its first store in Australia is due to open shortly. With a highly digitally-aware customer base, the company plans to continue to invest heavily in the brand's online presence.
Looking ahead, JD Sports’ CEO Peter Cowgill has cautioned on the impact of Brexit. “Whilst we must recognise that there are external influences which may impact the latter part of the year, notably inflationary pressures arising from Brexit, the board remains confident in the robustness of the JD proposition and believes that the group is well positioned for further profitable growth,” he said.
The results also showed that both JD Sports’ Blacks and Millets businesses delivered positive results for the first time since being acquired. The acquisition of Go Outdoors is set to strengthen the brand’s position in the competitive outdoor market even further.
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