JD VOWS TO CLEAN UP ITS ACT
JD SPORTS has vowed to clean up its act after the shock ousting of long-serving chairman Peter Cowgill.
The ‘King of Trainers’ said it would ‘draw a line in the sand’ after fines and concerns over its corporate governance.
And in a damning indictment of how the company was run by Cowgill, interim chairman Helen Ashton said she has brought in ‘external advisers to carry out a number of independent investigations into certain matters’. These matters included ‘regulatory issues’.
JD, which has used Abbey Clancy (pictured) to promote its stores, was hit by the Competition and Markets Authority in February with a £4.3m fine over secret meetings between Cowgill and the boss of Footasylum, as JD was trying to snap up its rival.
This month it set aside £2m for potential fines after confessing to ‘cartel activity’ over the price-fixing of replica Rangers FC shirts.
Cowgill was voted out last month. Yesterday, JD unveiled record profits of £947.2m for the year to February. Sales rose to £8.6bn, from £6.2bn.