JD Sports 'cautious' on outlook as UK sales decline

JD Sports said it is “cautious” about trading over the rest of the year due to pressure on consumer finances and the risk of rising unemployment.

The sportswear retailer, however, added that it has made “strong progress” in recent months and pointed to improvements in the US after it had been impacted by weak consumer sentiment.

It came as the sportswear retailer revealed a 2.5% drop in like-for-like sales over the six months to August 2, compared with the same period a year earlier. However, it added that organic sales were up 2.6% year-on-year.

JD said it saw a particular drop in the UK and Europe over the last three months when it was affected by tough comparisons with the same quarter last year, which had benefited from the Euro 2024 football tournament.

UK like-for-like sales were down 3.3% over the half-year, driven by a 6.1% drop in the latest quarter.

It stressed that sales of apparel were “resilient” across Europe and the UK, while demand for footwear was helped by newer product lines.

JD Sports reported that North American sales were down 3.8% for the half-year and 2.3% lower for the latest half-year.

The company said it had seen some footwear launches deferred from the start of the year into the second quarter amid uncertainty over tariffs and broader economic conditions.

On Wednesday, the group stressed that it does not expect to see any material “direct” impact from the new US tariff regime and is still monitoring how it might be impacted by indirect tariffs affecting suppliers and partners.

Regis Schultz, chief executive of JD Sports, said: “We are making strong progress in developing our omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint and supply chain, and we are controlling our costs and cash effectively.

“I am proud of all our teams across the globe for their energy and focus against tough trading conditions.

“Across our regions and fascias, in general, we see a resilient consumer, albeit very selective on their purchases.

“We therefore remain cautious on the trading environment going into the second half of the year.”