JD Sports has reported a 6% decline in sales as the UK’s cost of living starts to really bite, the question is can the sportswear retailer continue to weather the storm?
As big as the Bury born sportswear giant JD Sports may have become over the last 10 years following its US expansion & the more recent unveiling of its biggest global store a bit closer to home in Greater Manchester, it seems like this whole “cost of living” thing is now really starting to bite. If there’s one thing JD Sports have nailed it’s their demographic, love it or loathe it, they know exactly who their consumer is. With it’s affiliation to the UK’s “all black” tracksuit wearing teenagers to tapping into this whole fitness boom whether it’s the new wave of running, die hard gym goers or yoga lovers. Stepping into a JD Sports nowadays is more like a real life ‘bricks ‘n’ mortar’ marketplace catering for everyone from 14 year old “back to schoolers” to 40 year old football fans wanting a replica Man Utd shirt for matchday. But just like your local hipster café selling bagels, one of which recently quoted “If you can’t go out and buy a bagel, what’s the point of living”, to be fair they really did have a point!, the tightening of wallets (and purses) is unfortunately a real thing & JD Sports’ latest financials are a clear sign of the times, especially here in the UK as the sportswear giant revealed a decline of 6% in sales for Q2 2025.
The question now is how sustainable is this whole tightening of household budgets? JD Sports said the 6% decline in quartley sales compared to the same period last year was also partly down to the fact 2024 was boosted by the Euros. However, it doesn’t take away the fact the UK is a tough cookie to crack currently for any retailer, or brand, big or small, which are constantly pushing sales to shift stock. Sales were also down in North America by 2.3% compared to the same period last year but did beat the previous quarter’s decline of 5.5%. North America now accounts for 40% of the sportswear retailers revenue through the likes of Hibbett, DTLR, Shoe Palace & Finish Line. Also don’t forget to subscribe to KULT & follow @kult_recruit to keep up to date with all the latest industry news.
JD Sports Q2 2025 Key Facts:
- Q2 2025 group like-for-like sales down 3%
- UK like-for-like sales down 6.1%
- North America like-for-like sales down 2.3%
- Forecasts full year profit in line with market expectations
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. In both Europe and the UK, we were annualising tough comparators from the Euros football tournament last year, but still saw a good underlying performance in apparel and from newer footwear lines. 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 H2.
Régis Schultz – CEO JD Sports
