Latest news with #RégisSchultz
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
JD Sports opens its biggest global store in Manchester
There are grand store opening events. And then there are JD Sports opening events. The spotlight fell on Manchester's Trafford Centre Saturday (7 June) where over 1,000 shoppers turned up for the opening of JD's biggest ever store (41,000 sq ft), led by eight-time gold medalist athletics superstar Usain Bolt supported by YouTube group Beta Squad. Describing it as its 'ultimate destination for fresh fits and exclusive flex' the store becomes a blueprint for JD's international retail expansion. The store follows a revamp and upsize of its previous Trafford Centre location, tripling its size. It also features the largest store front in the global JD Sports store estate spanning 302 feet. The store also features over 270 digital screens; over 400 sq m of LED; a 104 metre-long digital screen spanning across the bulkhead. It also features special takeover areas from Nike, Adidas, Puma and On Running along with JD brand exclusives including Unlike Humans. The opening day showcase featured the 'Nike AM95: The Vault', allowing shoppers to buy very-limited-edition pairs of AM95 OG Mandarin and AM95 OG Pink Foam sneakers. JD Sports CEO Régis Schultz, said the opening was a 'proud and landmark moment', adding: 'We see the world through the mindset of our customer, know what they want and set the trends for them. This opening showcases JD's relentless drive to bring our global customers exceptional retail experiences and differentiated product, backed by our strong brand partnerships. 'At the same time, it's a celebration of our roots – Manchester has been close to the heart of JD's journey since we opened our first store in Bury in 1981. As we continue to expand our footprint across the world, the Trafford Centre store represents the future of JD: bold, forward-thinking, and deeply connected to the communities we serve.' Marcus Briggs, managing director at Pradera Lateral, Trafford Centre's asset management firm, also said ahead of the opening: 'The anticipation and excitement has been building for this opening of JD's Trafford Centre flagship store. The respective property, marketing and design teams have worked extremely hard to deliver a store of global significance for our Trafford Centre visitors and we are all delighted with the outcome. We really value our longstanding partnership with JD.'
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
JD Sports opens its biggest global store in Manchester
There are grand store opening events. And then there are JD Sports opening events. The spotlight fell on Manchester's Trafford Centre Saturday (7 June) where over 1,000 shoppers turned up for the opening of JD 's biggest ever store (41,000 sq ft), led by eight-time gold medalist athletics superstar Usain Bolt supported by YouTube group Beta Squad. Describing it as its 'ultimate destination for fresh fits and exclusive flex' the store becomes a blueprint for JD's international retail expansion. The store follows a revamp and upsize of its previous Trafford Centre location, tripling its size. It also features the largest store front in the global JD Sports store estate spanning 302 feet. The store also features over 270 digital screens; over 400 sq m of LED; a 104 metre-long digital screen spanning across the bulkhead. It also features special takeover areas from Nike, Adidas, Puma and On Running along with JD brand exclusives including Unlike Humans. The opening day showcase featured the 'Nike AM95: The Vault', allowing shoppers to buy very-limited-edition pairs of AM95 OG Mandarin and AM95 OG Pink Foam sneakers. JD Sports CEO Régis Schultz, said the opening was a 'proud and landmark moment', adding: 'We see the world through the mindset of our customer, know what they want and set the trends for them. This opening showcases JD's relentless drive to bring our global customers exceptional retail experiences and differentiated product, backed by our strong brand partnerships. 'At the same time, it's a celebration of our roots – Manchester has been close to the heart of JD's journey since we opened our first store in Bury in 1981. As we continue to expand our footprint across the world, the Trafford Centre store represents the future of JD: bold, forward-thinking, and deeply connected to the communities we serve.' Marcus Briggs, managing director at Pradera Lateral, Trafford Centre's asset management firm, also said ahead of the opening: 'The anticipation and excitement has been building for this opening of JD's Trafford Centre flagship store. The respective property, marketing and design teams have worked extremely hard to deliver a store of global significance for our Trafford Centre visitors and we are all delighted with the outcome. We really value our longstanding partnership with JD.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
JD Sports Builds On Hibbett Acquisition And Opens Largest Store Yet
Usain Bolt opened JD Sports' largest store to date down the road from its Manchester offices. It's fair to say that when JD Sports goes, it goes big. After several years when U.K. sports and fashion retailer JD Sports could just not stop expanding, the Hibbett-owner is switching lanes from the 100 metres to long distance running as CEO Régis Schultz consolidates on what has been a remarkable rise in the U.S. and internationally. Usain Bolt was the guest of honor as JD Sports opened its largest store to date down the road from its Manchester headquarters in north west England at the weekend, but it is the U.S. which is now the company's biggest market. And while many British brands have stumbled as they attempted to win over American consumers, JD Sports has hardly put a foot wrong since making its first acquisition and in just a few short years it now leads the pack. 'It has been a fantastic story for us. In 2018 we bought Finish Line and we turned around this business. We bought Shoe Palace, DTLR and Hibbett and now have a business of $6 billion annually,' Schultz said. 'We built a business that came from nothing to be bigger than the market leader.' He believes that many rivals focused too heavily online and stopped investing in their stores, a trend accelerated by the pandemic, which allowed JD Sports to bring something different as 'the new kids on the block, bringing, modernity and something fresh and with a different proposition, with a bigger apparel section.' Footwear only stores missed out on the lifestyle opportunity and the consumer desire to mix and match different brands, he stressed. North America is now JD's largest market, with a mix of fascias depending on where the company sees the best brand resonance. The company has nearly 350 JD Sports rebranded storefronts and around 257 stores still branded as Finish Line, plus 256 concessions in Macy's. The billion dollar acquisition of Alabama-based Hibbett added 1.169 stores across 36 states but the strength of the brand domestically means it will retain its fascia. JD Sports is focused on bigger and better stores. 'We will be continuing to convert our runway for the coming five years, continuing to convert Finish Line stores. There are still over 200 stores to convert to JD, plus opening new stores," Schultz said. It is anticipated to hit a global profit before tax of $1.25 billion and JD now has nearly 4,900 stores worldwide, including in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Italy, Australia, Spain and Portugal. The differing brand approach reflects how JD Sports sees its most effective connection with the consumer after the U.S. team from Finish Line saw something that made JD Sports different and decided to push for a change of brand. 'This is quite rare, and I think it will be a business case in 10 years time, having the guts to do it. And they did it, and very well,' Schultz reflected. As a result, the Finish Line name will only remain at Macy's, where it attracts a different customer who is typically a little older and more biased towards females. Indeed, national coverage also comes with demographic nuances, with Shoe Palace connecting on the west coast and in the south with Hispanic customers and the apparel ranges at DTLR focused more on black American shoppers, especially around basketball culture. 'A key learning is a strong back office, we are leveraging the back office in the U.S. for finance and HR, and through the acquisitions have introduced a strong discipline to deliver more than $25 million of synergies that we plan mostly around logistics. We were at capacity in Indianapolis, so we invested in a new warehouse, so now we are west coast, south and Midwest. We have five years of capacity, whereas we were at max when we made the acquisition, and it gives us to the ability to deliver better service,' he said, stressing that the key for online delivery is stores. 'It is the best model, especially in the U.S., it's cheaper to fulfil from store. Unless you are Amazon, with a warehouse in every town, leveraging your store is a much better model, much more efficient, because it increases your stock turn in your store," he said. "It increases your ability to sell, it's a win, win. And we believe that the best proposition for the consumer. What we're seeing is that it's the only channel position where they can go in store, they can come pick up in store, they can receive from online.' The U.S. has not been a happy hunting ground for many established U.K. retailers, and Schutlz puts JD Sports' success in part down to choosing acquisitions for expansion and having a U.S. management team. In addition, he points out that trends in fashion and sports are global. 'We keep evolving. We are not fixed on one model, and we keep what is great. Every store is the opportunity to do something different and at Trafford Centre [the mall location of its new flagship in Manchester] we can put all the brands that we dream of in the store, because it's near, it's 15 minutes from our offices, so let's give the opportunity for the buyer, for the merchandizer, for the property guy, for the concept guy, to have something which is too big. Being too big means that you can test new products. You can test new brands. And that is really the idea behind the store,' he said. While most stores will not be at the scale of the Manchester flagship, he believes that some of the digital elements, the differentiation between the male section and the female section, plus new checkouts, may well influence new stores, although domestic store expansion has largely reached maturity. 'I want to make sure that we continue to have the best stories possible, and it will be bigger and better,' the JD Sports boss said. "I think that size matters in a world where omnichannel is important, the store experience needs to be an experience. And if you are in a bigger store, you get a better experience. You also have more product, more availability. We have 35,000 pair of shoes in the store. So it's highly likely that you will find the shoes that you want to take away right away,' he stressed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JD Sports CEO Calls Foot Locker Acquisition ‘Positive' for Market, Calls Out Trump's Immigration Policy for Slowdown at Shoe Palace
Following last week's surprise news that Dick's Sporting Goods would acquire Foot Locker in a deal worth $2.4 billion, JD Sports chief executive officer Régis Schultz is sounding off on the deal. 'We see [the acquisition] as a positive,' Schultz told analysts on the company's fiscal 2025 earnings call on Wednesday. 'I think that competing with a distressed retailer [in reference to Foot Locker], and not knowing what they are doing, it's not a great place to be. And I think we have seen that through discounting. [There was] erratic discounting at the end of the quarter.' More from WWD Shares of Vans Parent Company VF Corp. Sink After Q4 Revenue Miss Karoline Leavitt's Style Spotlighted by Designer, Scrutinized by Others Amer Sports Raises 2025 Guidance, Tariffs Not Major Concern Pressed further from another analyst, Schultz said that he hopes the merger will elevate some of the pressure on short-term trading for Foot Locker, which should help them be more disciplined with discounts and promotions on product. 'If it's good for the market, it's good for us,' the JD CEO added. 'And having a competitor is always great. It forces us to be better and pushes us.' As for Dick's Sporting Goods, Schultz said that the company 'respects' its rival. '[Dick's] is a great operator,' he said. 'They are a full-price operator. So, I think that it will put the market in a much better position. And I think that having a competitor who has the balance sheet to invest in store, to invest in the proposition, to be disciplined, I think it's the best thing for the market.' During Wednesday's call, the CEO also took time to blast the U.S. President Trump's immigration policy for having a 'negative impact' on its Shoe Palace banner. 'As you know, Shoe Palace is targeting the Hispanic customer,' Schultz told analysts on Wednesday. 'We have seen a huge decline in traffic, which I think is telling. I think the online business has been okay. But you can definitively see the impact from the immigration policy on Shoe Palace.' This news comes the same time JD Sports reported revenue in fiscal 2025 of 11.46 billion pounds, an increase of 10.2 percent from 10.40 billion pounds in 2024. Profit before tax and adjusting items was 923 million pounds, a 4 percent decline from 961 million pounds the prior year. By category, footwear continued to perform strongly with revenue growth of 15.2 percent to 6.82 billion pounds in 2025. Schultz noted that the company was able to switch its focus successfully from retro basketball to retro football and skate terrace styles throughout the year. As for apparel, revenue in the category grew 4.2 percent to 3.55 billion pounds, while accessories revenue grew by 4.8 percent to 702 million pounds. According to JD, footwear makes up 60 percent of its sales, while apparel accounts for 31 percent and accessories at 6 percent. 'Other' categories accounts for 3 percent and includes outdoor living equipment and gym memberships. By region, JD noted that all geographies grew revenue in the period other than in the UK, which was impacted by non-core divestments made over the last two years. For the year, revenue in the UK declined 4.1 percent to 3.21 billion pounds, while Europe revenue increased 9.5 percent to 3.51 billion pounds. North America revenue increased 27 percent to 4.24 billion, and Asia Pacific revenue increased 0.4 percent to 501 million pounds. The company noted that North America generates 37 percent of total revenue, while Europe accounts for 31 percent, the UK accounts for 28 percent, and Asia Pacific makes up 4 percent. Looking ahead, Schultz said that overall trading in the first quarter of the new financial year has been in line with our expectations in a volatile market. In Q1 2026. organic sales growth was 3.1 percent, driven by a 5.1 percent contribution from new space. Like-for-like sales were down 2.0 percent and gross margin was in line with the prior period. 'Despite this volatility, and uncertainty surrounding the impact of U.S. tariff changes, we look forward into the medium term with confidence that we can continue to outperform the market, improve our profit margin and create significant value for our shareholders,' Schultz noted. Best of WWD Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos] Crocs Collaborations From Celebrities & Big Brands You Should Know Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Big brands vs retailers: who will absorb the tariff impact in their profit margins?
'There are no tariffs on webcasts,' joked Régis Schultz, chief executive of JD Sports as he opened the sportswear retailer's strategy update to the City. Unfortunately, that was the limit of his insights into the effects of Trumpian economic warfare on a business that likes to point out that its 2,500 state-side stores make it bigger in the US than local icon Footlocker. The boast sounded better before the US whacked 40%-plus tariffs on countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, the manufacturing source of many of the trainers and 'athleisure' apparel in the shops. JD's answer to the tariff question was a big dunno. 'At this stage, the outcome of these developments is uncertain,' said the company, stating the bleedin' obvious. Even its forecast that pre-tax profits this year will be between £878m to £982m came with the enormous qualification that it 'excludes any potential impact from changes to tariffs,' which makes the prediction meaningless. But one can't blame Schultz for such vagueness. Trying to model this stuff is genuinely pointless when US tariffs on China, for instance, can double in a day. In JD's case, it isn't sourcing most of its US products directly from overseas, but is buying from those who do – Nike, Adidas, New Balance and so on. On the safe assumption that Nike et al won't volunteer to absorb 100% of the tariff impact in their profit margins, the first big question is how the arm-wrestle between manufacturer versus retailer plays out. JD starts from the position of being the biggest on its side on the table; on the other hand, it is in a market where brands reign supreme. Then there is a huge unknown of what price increases US consumers will swallow, and what happens to consumer confidence along the way, including in the two-thirds of JD's business that is not in the US. It may be at least six months, one suspects, before it is able to offer useful reports on the real-world effects. Even then, it may be hard to separate the tariff whack from other factors – the sports fashion world, for example, has been slowing for at least two years, especially in the UK. Yet another variable is the extent to which manufacturers with global supply chains can play the tariff rate card game of switching between locations. It is a fantasy to think many shoe and garment factories will migrate to the US but Turkey, with a baseline 10% tariff, may be an alternative to Asia. The multiple uncertainties are a downer for investors but one also understands why JD's shares rose 10% on (another) big down for the FTSE 100 index. At 69p, JD – after a rocky few years of profit upsets and heavy spending on logistics and IT systems – is rated at just six times earnings and is currently generating enough cash to afford a £100m share buy-back. In normal circumstances, you'd call that cheap. It isn't cheap if a proper Trump-inspired deep global recession is on the cards – trainers are the ultimate deferrable purchase. But the bit we don't know is how retailers and supply chains will adapt and automate. The pass-through effects of US tariffs probably won't be straightforward.
