JD Sports reported growth in both North America and Asia Pacific, but it was not enough to make up for slumps in the UK and Europe over the festive period.
For the nine weeks to January 3, 2025, JD Sports group like-for-like sales dipped 1.8% for the period. While there were bright spots over the period, with 1.5% like-for-like sales growth in the US and 2.8% growth in Asia Pacific, a 3.4% drop in Europe and 5.3% fall in the UK dragged overall performance.
The retailer noted “continued resilience in apparel sales” over the period, and “softness in footwear [was] expected given end-of-cycle product line headwinds”.
JD Sports is rolling out new ecommerce platforms in Europe and the UK, which are set to come online in 2026, following successful implementations in the US and Italy”.
As a result, JD said it expected profit before tax for the 2026 financial year to be in line with current market expectations.
It also said it was on track to generate £400m in free cash flow by the end of the financial year.
Chief executive Régis Schultz said: “Overall sales during the peak period were in line with our expectations, against a volatile consumer backdrop. Black Friday saw strong customer engagement across all regions, but demand softened in the first half of December, particularly in Europe and the UK. We responded decisively in the final weeks of the period by choosing to make targeted price investments, and we saw improved sales in the immediate run-up to Christmas Day and the period after, demonstrating the strong customer appeal of JD and its complementary fascias, in a challenging market. I’d like to thank all our colleagues for their continued hard work and commitment during a critical trading period for the group.
“We were pleased to see a marked improvement in our like-for-like sales trend in North America, our largest market, where we returned to growth and delivered further market share gains, supported by disciplined execution of our trading plan. JD’s brand awareness continues to grow in the US and, building on this momentum, we have decided to increase our marketing initiatives in North America in the coming year to accelerate our growth plans in the region.
“Operationally, we continue to exercise strong cost and cash control, and expect to exit the financial year with a higher-quality inventory position. Our strategic initiatives are delivering strong progress across the business: we are optimising our supply chain, continuing to upgrade our online proposition through the ongoing replatforming of our ecommerce channels, and accelerating our digital transformation through the rollout of our agentic AI‑driven commerce capabilities. Together, these actions position us well to navigate a fast‑changing retail landscape.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident that our agile, multi-brand, cross-category approach will enable us to outperform the market and deliver strong cash flows and enhanced shareholder returns. For FY26, we expect full-year profit before tax and adjusting items to be in line with current market expectations, and free cash flow of £400m, underpinned by disciplined execution and a strong balance sheet.”
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