JJB Sports said like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks ended July 20 were
down 1.2% year-on-year. The sports retail and health clubs group, based
in the U.K., said this consists of a 2% fall in its 409 retail stores
and a 5.9% increase for its 49 health clubs. It also said it was
cautious about a “very challenging” second half of the year.
JJB has been hurt by a slowdown in consumer spending. The failure of the England team to qualify for Euro 2008 also has impacted sports licensing sales.Finally, JJB said it has been hit by the failure of Umbro to deliver new replica football kits on time.
JJB's health clubs have seen continued positive revenue and gross margins, and have only been slightly affected by the current economic situation, it added.
Chairman Roger Lane-Smith said in a statement: “The management remain
cautious about the outlook for the remainder of 2008 in view of the
difficult retail environment. I am confident that the board are taking
the right decisions to build a strong foundation for the future of JJB
and to get us through what looks like being a very challenging second
half to the year.”
On the positive side, Lane Smith said store remodels were producing strong sales gains and the new look would be rolled out to the rest of the chain. The firm closed 72 stores and slashed 800 jobs earlier this year as part of its turnaround efforts.
