JD Sports has outlined ambitious growth plans to open up to 350 shops globally each year. The sports fashion retailer’s recently-appointed boss, Regis Schultz, said it expects to generate £1billion in cash each year as he outlined the firm’s latest strategy.
Mr Schultz, who took over as chief executive officer last August following the departure of Peter Cowgill, said it would continue to invest in the UK, but that new openings would be focused on North America and continental Europe.
“In the UK, we will continue to (have) strong stores and expand into significantly bigger sites,” the boss said. “There will be attention on under penetrated areas of the market though. We think there is potential for up to 600 stores in the US and 400 to 500 in Europe, which will include France, Italy, Germany and Spain.”
The company said its five-year strategy will see it expand its shops estate with 250 to 350 new JD stores each year. It highlighted that this was likely to include 20 to 30 new openings in the UK over the five-year period.
The group currently runs around 440 shops in the UK and Ireland. JD said the strategy will involve up to £600 million of capital investment each year as it grows its store portfolio. The firm’s management team also set out a desire to achieve double-digit revenue growth across the next five years and double-digit market share gains in key regions.
Mr Schultz added: “Today marks a new, distinct chapter in the growth story of JD as we set our plans to become the leading global sports-fashion powerhouse. Building on our strong existing position and attractive long-term market dynamics, we see significant growth opportunities ahead by expanding JD internationally, notably in North America and Europe. We will also be enhancing our omnichannel retail offering, investing in technology and analytics, and leveraging our long-term strategic brand partnerships, to better serve more customers.”
The plans come weeks after JD said annual profits will be towards the top end of expectations following strong sales growth over the key festive period.
