After JD Sports posted double-digit profit growth in the first half of the year, in line with expectations to hit the £1bn profit mark for the first time, Retail Week finds out what has made the business more successful than others in its space
While Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods reported falling profits impacted by a rise in crime in the US, JD Sports maintained its position in the territory, reporting 15% growth in North America.
Speaking on its performance in a continent that has been under scrutiny recently, chief executive Régis Schultz said: “People tend to forget that we are very balanced.
“So, yes, the US is a third of ourselves, but it is only a third. When we get impacted, it’s only a third of our business.
“And what we see in the US is that if you have the right product and the right offering, you’ll do well. So I think it’s about the quality of your proposition to the consumer.
“Our stores and our model are well executed, we have the right product at the right time for the consumer, and that’s what we’re seeing in the US. If you do a good job, you get good results.”
One of the key strategies employed by the sportswear retailer has been making acquisitions in central and eastern Europe to open new doors for business.
Earlier this year, JD announced it would be acquiring all of the minority stake of Marketing Investment Group and Iberian Sports Retail Group, making it the sole owner of the two businesses as it strengthened its foothold in Europe.
Schultz said: “We bought the minority as we wanted to have a simple organisation. And I think it gives more clarity to the strategy and to the way we work.
“We are going to the next stage of development where we want to integrate our business, and we want to observe full control of what we are doing.”
Speaking on future acquisition plans, Schultz said: “We have cash on our balance sheet and we have the ability to do that. At the same moment, as you have seen, we have been very disciplined in terms of acquisition to make sure that we do the right one that is in line with our strategy.
“I think there’s plenty on our plate for the time being. But we have the ammunition if we need to do something.”
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