JD Sports Anticipates Sluggish Growth Due to Weak Demand in UK and Europe

JD Sports Sales Performance and Future Outlook

By James Davey

Sales Trends in Different Regions

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion on Wednesday reported a fall in underlying sales over the key Christmas trading period, as stronger demand in the United States was outweighed by weaker trends in the UK and Europe.

Market Conditions and Consumer Behavior

The FTSE 100-listed group, which makes about 40% of its revenue in North America through its JD Sports, Hibbett, DTLR and Shoe Palace stores, said sales on a like-for-like basis fell 1.8% in the nine weeks to January 3, versus a 1.7% fall in the third quarter.

Profit Forecast and Expectations

Like-for-like sales were up 1.5% in North America but down 5.3% in the UK and down 3.4% in Europe. They rose 2.8% in Asia Pacific.

The group said it saw continued resilience in apparel sales but soft trading in footwear in what CEO Regis Schultz called a "volatile consumer backdrop".

Shares in JD Sports were up 2.2% in early trading, paring losses over the last year to 4.4% that reflects pressure on the group's core, younger and less affluent customer base, a market driven by discounts and a drop-off in demand for Nike products, which make up about 45% of its sales.

JD SPORTS WARNS OF SUBDUED GROWTH AHEAD

The group expects a year to end-January 2026 profit before tax and adjusting items to be in line with current market expectations of 849 million pounds ($1.14 billion), down from the 923 million pounds made in 2024/25.

It also cautioned it currently anticipates a period of "muted market growth" in its 2026/27 year.

It said this assessment was based on the weak spending outlook for its core customer demographic and because its major brand partners are in "the early stages of the innovation pipeline".

But the group said it still expected to outperform the market.

Trading updates this month from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Primark have shown Britons prioritised festive food but thought twice about spending on clothing and gifts for Christmas.

($1 = 0.7444 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle and Louise Heavens)