There are 31 of the popular sports stores across Ireland, and 4,811 branches in total worldwide – the well-known retailer has reported a drop in its annual earnings
(Image: Lubo Ivanko via Getty Images)
One of Ireland’s biggest and most popular sports stores, JD Sports, has confirmed that more than 20 branches in the UK have been closed.
The retailer, which operates 4,811 stores worldwide, reported a drop in its annual earnings and warned that war in the Middle East could raise costs, potentially pushing up prices and weakening customer demand. The stores closed as JD aims to have “fewer, bigger, better” shops.
The sports brand said the Iran war has had no “direct exposure” on the business so far, as it has only a handful of franchised stores in the region. However, the company warned that “heightened uncertainty” could eventually “contribute to direct cost pressures”.
JD said: “Over time, the potential future impacts of heightened uncertainty may contribute to direct cost pressures, including energy and fuel costs across our store and logistics networks, respectively, as well as potential indirect impacts on pricing and consumer demand should input cost inflation emerge.”
As it faces uncertainty, the retailer said it was providing a wider range of profit guidance for the next financial year than it was previously planning. It is now forecasting a pre-tax profit of between £750 million and £850 million.
This would mark a decline from the £852 million pre-tax profit that the company made for the year to the end of January 2026, which was down 6.4% compared with the previous year. Total organic sales for the group, which excludes the impact of acquisitions, increased by 2.1% year on year to £12.66 billion.
In the UK, JD blamed the decline of organic sales on a “tough consumer backdrop”. Since the end of the financial year, JD also said cold and wet weather had dampened sales. It said trading in April was “volatile”, with a strong Easter performance followed by fewer visitors to shop, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Regis Schultz, JD’s chief executive, said: “We delivered a resilient performance, achieving organic sales growth of 2.1% despite tough market conditions.
“Our deep understanding of our customers and lifestyle trends give us a clear view of how they want to shop and spend, allowing us to consistently deliver the right products, in the right places and at the right prices. Whilst we continue to expect muted market growth in FY27 (2027 financial year), we remain confident in JD Group’s medium‐term trajectory, underpinned by our strong brand partnerships and agile, multi‐brand model.”
There are currently 31 JD Sports shops across Ireland, and when asked by RSVP Live for a comment on the status of its Irish stores, a spokesperson said: “Across Europe, there have been net 51 new stores opened, which includes stores in Ireland.”
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