JD Sports has enjoyed unrivaled success when it comes to getting young men and women to spend over £100 on the latest Nike trainers.
But trading has been tough lately, according to the retailer, as customers seem less willing to spend big.
The self-styled ‘Sneaker King’ of the FTSE 100 said its profits fell 8 per cent to £917m in the year to February 3.
That was at the lower end of the £900-£980 million the company had previously forecast.
Sales rose 2.7 per cent to £10.5 billion and were up in all regions except the UK, where revenue fell 8.3 per cent to £3.5 billion.
Tough times: The FTSE 100’s self-styled ‘King of Coaches’ said its profits fell 8 per cent to £917m in the year to February 3.
The group said this was due to the sale of fashion businesses that were no longer considered essential, such as Focus, GymNation and Hairburst. Chief executive Regis Schultz said the increase in group sales came “in what ended up being a very challenging market”. He added that revenue from apparel was slow because “young people want innovation,” as had been the case with sneakers.
The company is preparing for a busy summer in sport, with sales of England football shirts rising 35 per cent ahead of the same period ahead of Euro 2020, which was held in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The shares sank 4.7 per cent, or 6.3p, to 127.5p, taking losses for the year to more than a quarter.
Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at investment platform AJ Bell, said: ‘One of the UK’s biggest retail success stories, JD Sports, has found life a little more complicated in recent years and has not only thanks to the pandemic.
“While their youth demographic may not have been as immediately affected by the cost of living crisis, there have ultimately been limits to their ability and appetite to drop hundreds of pounds on the latest set of must-have sneakers.”
Mike Ashley’s fashion empire has increased its stake in Hugo Boss as the German brand’s share price plummets.
Frasers Group, which directly owns Sports, has increased its stake to more than £300m. Last month, Hugo Boss shares plunged 13 percent in a single session as the company warned that demand had weakened in China. Frasers Group shares rose 0.7 per cent, or 6.5p, to 881.5p.
A company owned by the biggest investor in AB Foods has sold £262m worth of shares in parent Primark at a slight discount.
Howard Investments offloaded about 10.3 million shares at 2,550 pence each, about 4 percent lower than the previous day’s closing price.
It is a subsidiary of Wittington, the main investor in AB Foods, which together own 56 percent of the company. Both have committed not to sell any more shares this year until September 14.
Shares in AB Foods sank 4.1 per cent, or 110 pence, to 2,550 pence.
Major markets ended the last trading session of the month in the green, with the FTSE 100 up 0.5 per cent, or 44.33 points, to 8,275.38 and the FTSE 250 up 0.3 per cent, or 59 .25 points, up to 20,730.12.
Harbor Energy is closing in on a deal to buy the majority of oil and gas assets owned by Germany’s Wintershall Dea. The shares added 2.6 per cent, or 8.4p, to 330p.