With optimism that trading circumstances will improve as it maintains its full-year profit estimate, British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said its like-for-like sales growth of over 4 per cent in the full-year ending 3rd February 2024 (FY ’24) “outperformed” the difficult market.
JD Sports Fashion reported 4.2 per cent growth in LFL sales for FY ’24, but there was a noticeable 0.1 per cent decline in Q4 that, according to Shore Capital research analyst Clive Black, will “feed into FY ’25 and the shape of that year.”
In Q4, organic sales increased by 4.4 per cent, compared to an 8.4 per cent growth in the year. In the meantime, the company’s overall sales increased 3.6 per cent to £ 10.5 billion following a 1.4 per cent gain from the 53rd week and a -6.2 per cent hit from disposals.
JS Sports Fashion’s 215 new store openings in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific were the main factor in the company’s like-for-like (LFL) sales growth in the fourth quarter. However, the region’s highest apparel sales mix and weaker apparel performance caused sales in the UK and Ireland to decline by 3.2 per cent.
According to the retailer, it also made the decision to provide fewer online discounts than its rivals.
Europe’s Q4 LFL sales increased by 0.9 per cent as a result of improved trade in the continent’s southern countries, particularly Portugal and Italy, offsetting decreased trade in the region’s northern regions. That resulted from a higher mix of clothing in the north. The impact of new store openings in Europe contributed to the 8.9 per cent organic growth in Q4 of the business.
In North America, Q4 LFL sales increased 2.1 per cent compared to a comparable growth of almost 30 per cent in a market that was “highly promotional,” while organic sales increased to 7.7 per cent as a result of new store openings.
With the support of all major markets, particularly New Zealand and Thailand, where new stores generated organic growth of 12.3 per cent, Asia Pacific Q4 LFL sales increased by 8.3 per cent.
Commenting on the results Régis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion Plc said: We achieved like-for-like sales growth of over 4 per cent, organic growth of over 8 per cent and our athleisure fascias achieved organic growth of over 10 per cent.”
