Sep 11, 2018
How JD Sports became a £5bn company
The results sent shares in Britain's biggest sportswear retailer 6% higher to 518p, leaving the company worth close to £5bn. JD has about 500 stores in the UK and owns a further 1,700 outlets worldwide. JD is now more than twice as valuable as rival retailer Sports Direct, which is worth £1.9bn - and more than High Street stalwart Marks & Spencer, which has a value of about £4.75bn. Amy Higginbotham, retail analyst at GlobalData, said JD's success was partly due to the popularity of "Athleisure", as well as offering exclusive products from premium brands such as Nike and Adidas. Continued investment in its physical stores makes JD Sports more resilient to the challenges threatening the UK High Street and having a significant impact on competitors like Mike Ashley's Sports Direct." JD Sports recently made its biggest acquisition, paying $558m for US footwear retailer The Finish Line, which has more than 550 stores and 375 concessions in Macy's department stores. The first London store followed on Oxford Street in 1989 and JD had 56 stores when it listed in 1996 at just under 15p a share.
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