JD Sports has posted an 18 per cent increase in its full-year revenue to January 28th, 2023, reaching £10.1bn. Profits were lower than for the previous year at £440.9m due to the business having booked a one-off charge of £550m.
The business operates 3400 outlets in 32 countries and is benefiting from constantly growing demand for the latest sports-fashion footwear and clothing. It has also pointed out that its younger customers are enjoying better pay in a market of low unemployment and that this is driving sales of higher-end branded products.
New CEO Regis Schultz who joined the business in September 2022 is credited by chair Andrew Higginson as having brought greater focus to the overall JD Sports strategy which resulted in the disposal of a number of the fashion businesses it had acquired.
Higginson stated: “We are now starting the next, and distinct chapter in the growth story of JD. The business is in fine health, with a brand and proposition that is clearly loved by consumers, and with the financial resources to deliver further expansion in underpenetrated and strategically important markets.
“The challenge for the Board is to deliver a step change in the governance framework and culture within the business, whilst allowing the entrepreneurial flair to flourish. In doing so, JD will have the right foundations from which to progress and support our new CEO and his Executive team.”
The business says it has reached an amicable and constructive way forward with Peter Cowgill, who led the business for 18 years, which involves a consultancy agreement for a three-year period to September 2025, with restrictive covenants.
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