JD results are no mean feet
Chain’s growth built on trainer coups
TRAINERS chain JD Sports kicked its rivals into touch by revealing record annual results yesterday.
Boss Peter Cowgill said JD scored by getting top sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas to give it their latest designs first.
“The brands are increasingly placing their trust in us,” he said.
Executive chairman Cowgill insisted its shoppers were keen to have the latest shoe technology.
But one major reason for JD’s success is that many customers buy trainers for everyday wear, rather than playing sport. Cowgill admitted: “For every one person running past the pub in a pair of trainers, there are 10 inside wearing them and having a pint.” JD’s sales soared 49% to £4.7billion in the year to February, including nearly £1bn in takings from newly bought US chain Finish Line.
Sales at its established sports arm rose 6% globally, although that takes in online as well as store turnover.
Cowgill said JD stores in the UK were only “slightly positive”.
The company’s outdoor wear chains, Blacks, Millets and Go Outdoors, did less well, plunging from an £8.8m profit to a £4.3m loss last year.
However, group profits still increased by 15.4% to £339m.
The marketbeating results saw JD’s share price surge 8.3% yesterday, giving it a stock market value of £5.6bn.
Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “These results show that standing out in a crowded market with exclusive products, a unique proposition and placing the experiences at the heart of the store, is a winning formula in today’s digital age.”
The results come as JD proceeds with a £90m takeover of rival Footasylum.
And earlier this month JD bought Pretty Green, the fashion firm founded by former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, out of administration
for £1.5m. JD’s biggest shareholder got a near £10million windfall after it upped its total dividend by almost 5%. Pentland Group, which controls 57% of JD, owns brands such as Speedo, Canterbury and Mitre.
Its chairman is billionaire Stephen Rubin.