JD Sports Fashion, which operates 350 JD Sports and Size? outlets in the UK, said like-for-like sales for the first 18 weeks of the financial year declined 2.8 percent, compared to a 1.2 percent decline in the first eight weeks. The retailer said results are skewed by last year’s World Cup but it maintained its cautious outlook due to the ongoing squeeze on consumer spending.
Of the two concepts, comps at Sports Fascias were down 3.0 percent and Fashion Fascias off 1.6 percent.
JD Sports said its cautious outlook issued on April 14 “remains unchanged and continues to be based on the very clear downward pressures on levels of gross consumer expenditure in our market and the increased VAT take from such expenditure. Overall group trading remains in line with management’s expectations at that time.”
