JD Sports Fashion continues to defy the odds
JD Sports Fashion showed how it is bang on trend with its customers when, despite the retail gloom, it revealed that profits will be ahead of expectations.
Its shares were up 4.5% to 222.5p on the news.
In January, the Bury based group reported a 2.8% hike in like-for-like sales over the Christmas trading period, and unlike many of its key rivals JD did not begin its sale until Boxing Day.
However it warned that given the current general retail environment negative sales may prevail in the early part of the calendar year 2009.
However, the group has continued to pull in the customers. Chairman Peter Cowgill said: “We are pleased to report that the positive sales uplift reported for the Christmas trading period has in fact been sustained during January.
“As a consequence the management team confidently expects that the group’s profit before tax and exceptional items for the year ended 31 January 2009 will marginally exceed current market expectations.
The group will announce its preliminary results on April 8.
The key to the group’s strong showing had been exclusive ranges with Nike and Adidas, strong own-label brands such as Mackenzie and Cabrini and most importantly from a profitability point of view, not discounting too early.
