JD Sports on Friday looked set to follow a stellar 2019, when it was the FTSE 100’s best-performing stock over the year, after reporting “positive” Christmas trading.
The sportswear retailer said: “Against a backdrop of widely reported retail challenges in the group’s core UK market, it is encouraging to report positive like-for-like trends in the group’s global sports fashion fascias, particularly overseas.”
As rivals including Superdry posted grim Christmas trading updates, analysts were encouraged by the brief upbeat report.
In a note entitled “The beat goes on”, Peel Hunt’s Jonathan Pritchard said: “Barely any retailers in the UK are in positive territory in store, of course, and the growth is coming from both the footwear and apparel sides.”
The retail group has been busily expanding overseas, including in America where its $558 million acquisition of Finish Line in 2018 looks to be paying off. JD’s shares doubled last year as it defied gloom around retail stocks. The shares lost 11p to 816p.
Separately it emerged today that JD Sports has signed a 10-year lease to take over a 31,000 square feet former Topshop shop at the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
Due to open this year, the store will be in addition to JD’s other smaller branch within the mall.
