JD Sports reveals Christmas sales fall

Retailer JD Sports Fashion has revealed falling UK sales over the key festive season and cautioned that it expects market growth to be “muted” over the year ahead.

The group reported a 5.3% drop in UK like-for-like sales in the nine weeks to January 3 as it said demand “softened” in the first half of December across Britain and Europe.

Overall it saw group comparable store sales drop 1.8% in the nine-week period as a better performance in the US – its largest market, where sales rose 1.5% – was offset by the weak UK and European performance.

Group-wide sales for the 48 weeks so far of its financial year to January 3 dropped 2.1%.

It said it remains on track with full-year profit forecasts, with most analysts expecting a drop to £849 million from £923 million in 2024-25.

JD Sports also struck a cautious note over the outlook, saying it expects “muted market growth” in 2026-27.

Regis Schultz, chief executive of JD Sports, said the group was trading in a “volatile consumer backdrop”.

He said: “Black Friday saw strong customer engagement across all regions, but demand softened in the first half of December, particularly in Europe and the UK.

“We responded decisively in the final weeks of the period by choosing to make targeted price investments, and we saw improved sales in the immediate run-up to Christmas Day and the period after.”