JD Sports, which will hold its annual general meeting later on Friday, said earnings in the current year would reflect a more normalised trading pattern with about 35% to 40% of the profits generated in the first half.Sportswear lines are now so chic, gyms could be mistaken for catwalks. Never has it been more acceptable to don a pair of trainers and leggings — even if it's only to impress your friends over lunch. But on the High Street, fashion-forward brands including Whistles and Mango have jumped on the workout wagon, too.
The Bury-headquartered retailer said it has started a review of its control, risk and compliance target operating model. Last month it had laid out plans to overhaul its corporate governance structure and internal controls after a review led to the ousting of long-time boss Peter Cowgill in May.
Now that fitness has finally met fashion, working up a sweat has never been so glamorous. Among the designers, there's Stella McCartney's ongoing collaboration with Adidas, and Karl Lagerfeld producing monogrammed tennis rackets and balls at Chanel.
JD, which also runs camping and outdoor clothing chains such as Blacks, shop Millets and outfits Go Outdoors, said comparable store sales growth had continued at around 3 percent in the second half of its financial year, helped by strong growth in its online business and overseas expansion.
"JD Sports was probably insulated to some extent by its purchase of Go Outdoors, as the December cold snap prompted shoppers to stock up on winter warmers," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf, referring to the chain that the company bought in 2016 for 112 million pounds.
Bucking generally subdued trading by British store groups, JD said it expected pretax profit for the year ending Feb. 3 to come in at around 300 million pounds ($414 million), ahead of analysts' forecasts of 270-295 million pounds.
July 22 (Reuters) - Britain's largest sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said on Friday it expects annual profit to be in line with last year's record performance on strong demand for athleisure apparel and sportswear.
Rival Frasers, which owns Sports Direct, on Thursday said it expected higher profit next year, after a "record-breaking" 2022 driven by store reopenings and high demand for its sportswear. (Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)