JD Sports H1 sales drop 2.5% causing H2 concern

JD Sports has revealed that its sales across the group dropped 2.5% for the half year ended 2 August 2025.

The company stated that this was in large part due to tough comparatives as Euro 2024 the previous summer saw an increase in replica kit sales and in-store cross-sell as well as athletic footwear for women.

Alongside this, the company’s Q2 revenues fell 3% to £3.1m while UK sales dropped 6.1% over the second quarter, declining 3.3% during the retailer’s first half.

Despite this, the business noted good performance across its apparel, with footwear softer due to the end of cycle for its key product lines.

It also stated that it saw strong progress against strategic objectives across omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint, supply chain and North America operations.

Looking ahead, JD expects its FY26 PBT to be in line with current market expectations although it is wary of the potential impacts from US tariffs.

Furthermore, the retailer announced a new £100m share buyback programme, believing this reflects confidence in medium-term industry growth,its ongoing market share gains and focused execution.

CEO Régis Schultz said: “We are making strong progress in developing our omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint and supply chain, and we are controlling our costs and cash effectively. I am proud of all our teams across the globe for their energy and focus against tough trading conditions.

“For Q2, in North America we saw an improved performance following the deferral of several product launches from Q1, along with stronger sales trends in apparel and online. In both Europe and the UK, we were annualising tough comparators from the Euros football tournament last year, but still saw a good underlying performance in apparel and from newer footwear lines.”

He added: “Across our regions and fascias, in general we see a resilient consumer, albeit very selective on their purchases. We therefore remain cautious on the trading environment going into H2. For our FY26 profit before tax and adjusting items we expect to be in line with current market expectations, before any indirect impact of US tariffs which we continue to work through.

“We are well placed to continue growing our market share in the key growth regions of North America and Europe, and confident about the medium-term growth prospects for our industry. Reflecting this, we are reaffirming our commitment to enhanced shareholder returns, and announcing today a new £100m share buyback following the successful completion of the first £100m programme last month.”