UK's JD Sports Confident on Forecasts after First-half Beat

A logo is seen outside the newly renovated JD Sports store at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo

British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion beat a consensus forecast for first-half profit and said it was on track to meet annual guidance, showing its multi-brand strategy working at a time when Nike is struggling.
The FTSE 100-listed group, which sells Nike, Adidas, On, HOKA and other brands in Britain, Europe and the United States, said on Wednesday it would meet targets, despite what it called a competitive and promotional marketplace.
Nike on Tuesday posted disappointing quarterly sales growth and
warned
its holiday season would likely to be filled with discounts.
For the 26 weeks to Aug. 3, JD Sports posted adjusted pretax profit of 405.6 million pounds ($538.35 million), ahead of analyst expectations of 384 million pounds.
"Our success is a direct reflection of the strength and agility of our global, multi-brand strategy, which allows us to adapt swiftly to fast-changing industry trends across the world," Reuters quoted Chief Executive Regis Schultz as saying in a statement.
The group also reiterated its guidance for annual profit of between 955 million pounds and 1.035 billion pounds.