JJB Sports, the U.K.s largest chain of sporting goods stores, issued a bit of a warning last week that its sales for the first half of the year will be hurt by the inability to comp against a strong performance in soccer jerseys last year. JJB said that total revenue for the 18 weeks through June 3, including both retail stores and health clubs, was down 1.2% compared to the comp period last year. Sales for the first nine weeks had been up 4.3% through March.
Management said that if all England replica kit revenues were taken from total revenues for both years, total revenues would have been up 2.6% for the period. All other product categories saw increases in revenue.
