The move will see the sportswear specialist hold onto its ecommerce rights to run the official online England store, and physical shops during England home games, domestic cup finals and concerts at Wembley Stadium.

The retailer is also set to act as the FA’s official partner in sourcing new licensees, which it said would ensure its “merchandise remains best-in-class across all categories”.

Fanatics said the Euros had been a record-breaking tournament for its England merchandise revenues, with the team’s 2024 kit roll out having “shattered site records on launch day”.

Fanatics international president Stephen Dowling said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to expand our relationship with the FA and continue to serve fans of the Three Lions and Lionesses, two of the most iconic sides in world football.

“Fan optimism and belief around the England teams is at an all-time high coming off both the Euros this summer and the recent success of the Lionesses, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the FA to bring England fans around the world closer to their favourite players and the national teams.”

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The partnership is the latest move in the UK’s leading golf retailer’s strategy to “offer the ultimate one stop destination for everything a golfer requires”.

The first in a series of expansion plans, the concession will open on August 22, with a second due to open in another Go Outdoors store by the end of the year.

Along with an extended range of the golfing retailer’s top brands, including TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra, Benross, Garmin, Adidas, Stromberg and Under Armour, the concession will have a dedicated American Golf team on hand.

Employees from American Golf’s recently closed Cheltenham store have been re-deployed for their expertise, to provide a range of services including free custom fitting.

• Related Story

  • 

    Go Outdoors to open Europe’s largest outdoor store in ex-John Lewis unit

    07/08/2024 x 10:27 AM

Customers will also be able to trade in their old clubs for instant credit against any purchase, have their clubs regripped, access to its Golf insurance policies, while retaining their AG Club Card loyalty benefits.

American Golf retail, operations and people director Elaine Wrigley said: “The store represents a significant step in our broader strategy to enhance our presence and accessibility across the UK. The sheer popularity of the Go Outdoors brand and their footprint across the country, offers an amazing opportunity to introduce the game of golf to a wider audience.

“We are committed to providing exceptional service and products to our customers, and this partnership is testament to that commitment, as well as a fantastic chance to meet the growing demand from the Hereford and Gloucester areas. I’m also thrilled that we can continue the loyal relationship we had with our Cheltenham customers.”

Go Outdoors CEO Lee Bagnall said:  American Golf is the go-to brand for golfers of all abilities across the nation, and to have them onboard and continue to grow across more of our stores is a partnership we’re really excited about.”

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The outdoor clothing specialist bounced back into the black over the year, making a £26.2m pre-tax profit, compared with a £1.5m loss the prior year when it was hit by incremental Covid-19 costs.

CEO Mark Neale put its strong performance down to shoppers flocking back to the high street post-pandemic and to capitalise on this, it opened 28 stores over the year, and 20 more since the year end. 

Store sales climbed 7.1% over the last year, helped by the new stores.

Neale said: “During Covid a lot of people were claiming nobody was ever going to visit stores again and their days were numbered. We never believed that, and it has proved to be wide of the mark.”

“Whilst our online business had a big boost during the pandemic, we kept investing in stores and their success shows customers relish choice and the opportunity to shop how and when they want.”

The new stores included 21 in the UK where it more than doubled the size of its Covent Garden branch and took on the ex-Wilko site in Cornwall, as well as eight international shops, including its first in Brisbane Australia.

It has already secured more Australian sites in Melbourne, which will open before the end of October. The retailer already has a strong business in neighbouring New Zealand, with 24 stores opened over the past six years.

Neale said: “The first customer we served in Brisbane was buying a jacket for a coach tour around Scotland. The next one needed gear for a trek up Mount Fuji. Australians love the outdoors, they love to travel and explore, and we’re hoping that they will soon love Mountain Warehouse as well.”

Mountain Warehouse plans to open up to 50 more branches and relocations globally in its current financial year.

In the UK, it is opted to open much larger stores, including some in retail parks, such as Bedford Retail Park, Maybird Retail Park in Stratford-upon-Avon, Malvern Shopping Park and Tunbridge Wells Shopping Park. 

The larger stores mean the retailer can stock a wider product range, including sections devoted to ski wear and the Animal brand, which it acquired three years ago and has started to open stand-alone stores for. It will soon have six Animal stores.

Neale said acquiring Animal had helped it “reach many new customers”.

Online sales at Mountain Warehouse edged up 2.2%, and now accounts for almost a third of revenue – up from just under a quarter pre-pandemic – helped by the success of its marketplace offer.

Mountain Warehouse Marketplace, where third-party sellers can list their products on its website, launched in 2022 and now has more than 320 brands. Marketplace sales jumped more than 150% year on year.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The 125,000 sq ft site will feature more than 380 brands across walking, camping and caravanning, watersports, running, fishing, horse riding, and climbing. It will also house its new concept cafe, Alpine Café.

The superstore has created over 42 new jobs at the outdoors retailer, with 28 staff members joining from its old GO Outdoors York shop.

The store will begin trading on 23 August, with a grand opening weekend held over 7 and 8 September, hosted by brand ambassador and TV star Helen Skelton.

GO Outdoors CEO Lee Bagnall said: “I am extremely excited and proud to open the biggest outdoor store in Europe. I am thrilled to be able to bring the very best brands, products and services to our customers in York, in our new game changing flagship store.”

Earlier this year, Go Outdoors unveiled plans to open a new 20,000 sq ft Express store inside the Metrocentre at Gateshead.

The outdoors specialist moved into the centre’s former 20,242 sq ft Wilko unit, forming its only store in the region within a shopping centre environment.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

Combining Kappa’s high-performing sportswear with contemporary trends, the range features hoodies, seamless sets and accessories across womenswear and menswear. It will land in Primark stores across 16 markets this month.

From casual options including half-zip sweatshirts and shirts, to activewear pieces like seamless co-ords and unitards, all products been designed to be breathable, with moisture wicking technology.

• Related Story

  • 

    What next for Primark online?

    10/04/2024 x 1:20 AM

Alongside gym essentials, there is also a wide range of accessories available including weekender and cross-body bags, sliders and socks. Prices start at £4.50 for accessories, up to £26 for clothing.

The fashion retailer entered the license clothing market in 2011 with its first Disney range and said “this category now forms an important part of its offering” as it looks to grow its sports license ranges in store.

Primark director of licencing Sarah Jackson said: “We’re thrilled to partner with the iconic Kappa brand and offer our customers specialist performance-wear, designed with comfort and functionality in mind. This is just the beginning of our collaboration and we’re excited for the future as we work together to bring more affordable choices to our customers.”

Kappa CEO Davide Piccolo said: “It is a great opportunity to collaborate on this brand-new capsule collection with Primark, a globally recognised brand. We are excited to engage with the Gen Z audience by leveraging contemporary trends. Together, we can combine our sportswear heritage with Primark’s global presence to deliver innovative and stylish activewear that resonates with young people.”

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The gymwear giant called Simmons “one of the most recognisable and inspirational fitness athletes and influencers in the world,” with the creator boasting over 4m followers on Instagram.

She has been a partner to Gymshark for eight years and brought out five collections in that time.

In her role, she will work closely with the brand’s product team on the creative direction and design for the upcoming Adapt Safari line and future Adapt collections, focusing on a specific collection every season to update, improve and bring new styles to life.

• Related Story

Gymshark Adapt creative director Whitney Simmons said: “Adapt has been my go-to in the gym for years, and it’s a collection that I totally believe in. When Gymshark asked me to take the charge for the next phase of Adapt, I immediately knew this was an opportunity to make a massive impact.

“Gymshark and I have always shared a commitment to our community, and I’m excited to bring that passion to life. My goal is to take Adapt to new heights, creating pieces that empower every woman to feel strong, confident, and unstoppable. Together, we’re going to make something truly special.”

Gymshark chief brand officer Noel Mack added: “We’re so hyped to reveal the icon that is Whitney as the new creative director for Gymshark’s Adapt franchise.

“Whitney’s inspirational journey with Gymshark, her deep connection with her community and her advocacy for body confidence, which embodies what the Adapt collection is all about…well, there’s no-one more perfect for this new role.

“Working closely with our design and product teams, Whitney will ensure that Adapt continues to resonate with her community and ours, and provides confidence and style to women. We are beyond excited for this new chapter with Whitney at the helm and can’t wait to see how her vision takes Adapt to the next level.”

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The programme, which launched in the UK in 2022, will allow the retailer’s US customers to select Nike member-only footwear and apparel when they link their JD Status accounts with the sporting giant’s programme.

By linking the two accounts, JD Sports and Nike customers can unlock an instant reward bonus, curated collections and early access to select Nike member products, as well as exclusive experiences and services.

JD Sports chief executive Régis Schultz said: “Becoming Nike’s first global Connected Member partner strengthens our long-standing, strategic relationship with the brand.

“We want to redefine how brands and retailers work together to set a global standard for customer experience in our stores and across our digital channels – and this means making sure we find new ways to reward loyalty.

“This partnership cements JD’s position as the leading global omnichannel retailer of sports fashion brands, providing our extremely brand conscious customers with the products they want most across footwear and apparel.

“We want our customers to shop with JD knowing they are accessing the very best of what our partner brands have to offer, giving them the confidence that they are at the forefront of the trends shaping sports fashion.”

The sportswear giant revealed North America was a key strategic growth territory for the business after it reported sales were up 2.7% to £10.4bn in the year to 3 February.

However, profit before tax and adjusting items fell 7.5% to £917.2m, which it attributed to continued investment in its people, stores, systems and supply chain.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

While many retailers face a challenging trading environment and are closing stores, JD Sports is bucking this trend and placing a bold bet on expanding – and improving – its physical footprint. In fact, when CEO Régis Schultz laid down his five-year growth plan last year, he set a target of opening a whopping 250 to 350 stores a year.

Creating world-beating flagship stores also appear to be part of its plan – and the revamped 50,000 sq ft store in Westfield Stratford City is certainly that.

Mike Armstrong, who was promoted to the retailer’s first ever global managing director last year, says the Stratford store is the “pinnacle expression of JD and really gives you a good indicator of what the JDs of the future will look and feel like as it continues with the store expansion”.

Twice expanded, firstly in 2021 when it took on the adjacent Topshop unit and earlier this year when it did the same with the Disney store, the JD Sports flagship has been revamped to its ‘Just Landed’ format, and is described by Armstrong as “a really immersive digital experience”.

The store certainly “brings the energy” as he puts it, with a constant stream of the latest big brand marketing campaigns playing on loop across 205m² of LED panelling, and a raft of shop in shops installations from its big name partners including Nike, Adidas, and New Balance.

It even has an elevated DJ booth, where the retailer brings in DJs to spin some tunes and provide the soundtrack to the shopping experience.

Armstrong says: “At the heart of it there’s 216 individual screens, so there’s a lot of investment in digital and but it really blends seamlessly into the environment that we’ve created.”

JD Sports global director store development and property transformation James Fuller adds: “The screens can adapt instantaneously to the latest campaigns, the latest trends and help support that customer navigation through the store.”

Not only is the store impressive for customers, it is equally impressive operationally. The Stratford site features 29,000 sq ft of retail space but 50,000 sq ft in total, with its warehouse-style stock room taking up the remainder.

The vast stock room has the capacity to hold 30,000 boxes shoes, and is used to serve both the store and online orders.

From the stock room, products can arrive on the shop floor in 30 seconds via a conveyor belt that moves shoes down a giant helter-skelter to the waiting store assistant.

The customer who asks for a pair of trainers will see where their shoes are via a digital ordering screen – think a more engaging version of the Argos ordering system.

Payment is also made quick and seamless, with shoppers given the option to use self-checkout points, a huge bank of tills, or can even pay on the spot with store assistants as each staff member is armed with a handheld device that not only does inventory checks but transactions too.

Rolling out the concept

JD Sports’ faith in stores is unsurprising given that 72% of its sales came from bricks-and-mortar last year. However, the JD exec team say its stores also create a halo effect online, driving digital sales too.

The results of the Stratford store – which has catapulted to the retailer’s highest turnover store globally – has given it confidence as it pushes ahead with its roll out.

The Just Landed concept will be expanded to other big flagships including Sheffield Meadowhall, Lakeside, Bluewater, Glasgow Buchanan Street and JD’s new Manchester’s Trafford Centre, which will usurp Westfield Stratford to become its biggest global flagship when it opens next year.

However, the concept is not just confined to flagship stores. The retailer has four iterations of the format to cover all types of stores, and has currently revamped 70 JD Sports stores globally, with close to 200 expected to be done by the year end.

Armstrong says: “We designed the Stratford store to set the benchmark for how a JD will look and feel in the future – combining what we’ve always done best and to bring the energy, with all the trimmings of a leading retailer.”

Fuller adds that all revamps will keep the “street, urban environment” with both a frictionless experience and digital at the heart of it.

Elements such as self-service are also expected to be rolled out. It is currently being trialled in three flagship stores, but Fuller says it will soon experiment in smaller shops. He says JD is “very, very pleased with the results so far”.

JD Status

The retailer’s new loyalty programme JD Status also forms a crucial part of its omnichannel bleuprint. Launched last year in the UK, the loyalty app has already had 1.6 million downloads.

With Status, customers earn ‘JD cash’ on purchases that can be redeemed for discounts. It also offers sign-up bonuses and regular promotions.

Armstrong says customers who use the app spend 41% more on average and 20% of all UK revenue has come through the JD Status in the past 90 days.

The MD has big plans for the loyalty programme.

Armstrong says: “It’s firstly about understanding shopping habits and then we can tailor communication and offers towards each and every individual consumer in a much more specific way.”

The app recognises each customer when they enter store enabling JD to serve them with tailored offers and promotions.

“It really gives us a unique opportunity to communicate directly with consumers in a way we never could before, which is really exciting for us. We see it as a first step towards a really complete JD ecosystem, which hopefully can cover all the facets of a young person’s lifestyle,” adds Armstrong.

With the programme showing stellar results already, the group is set to roll out JD Status across Europe, having recently launched it in France and Poland.

A ripe opportunity

The new store concept and loyalty app have landed at a pivotal time for JD Sports. Despite achieving a whopping £917.2m in pre-tax profit in its last financial year, this was down 7.5% and behind expectations.

This followed a golden quarter that JD flagged was hit by discounting across the sportswear market in response to “cautious consumer behaviour”.

Since then mega brand Nike has slashed its 2025 forecast after reporting weaker-than-expected fourth quarter sales. The news led to its shares plunging 20%, making it the biggest one-day percentage drop in its stock’s history.

JD’s own shares are down by a fifth this year.

However, Armstrong shrugs off any concerns. “If you look at the long-term outlook there isn’t necessarily anything to be concerned about,” he says.

Now JD finds itself in the full thrust of the ‘Summer of Sports’, with the Euros in which England made the finals, swiftly followed by the Paris Olympics.

But does this mean bumper trading for JD Sports?

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The sportswear retailer has begun a consultation period with staff at the distribution centre, based on Derby Commercial Park.

Derbyshire Live reported that “around 200 workers” are impacted, as one staff member said that the consultation period should be concluded by 6 September.

JD Sports, which recently saw profits dip amid a “challenging market,” signed a 20-year lease on the newly built warehouse three years ago, according to the BBC.

A JD Sports spokesperson explained: “We have entered into a period of consultation with colleagues based at our Derby distribution centre.

“This is in relation to a review of the Derby distribution centre. We are doing all we can to look after those colleagues impacted and recognise this may be an unsettling time for them.”

A source familiar with the situation said they had been informed no final decision had been made regarding the distribution centre.

They explained the business was working alongside employment agencies and local employers to help workers find new employment and provide wellbeing support.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

Alecock most recently held the position of CEO at home and fashion retailer Joe Browns, working in the role from July 2022 until February this year.

Prior to that, he served as JD Sports chief operating officer from September 2019 until May 2022, after working at the sportswear giant under various commercial roles for 16 years.

As commercial director, Alecock will be in charge of the sportswear brand’s overall channel performance in retail, wholesale and ecommerce for both partnerships as well as its mainline divisions, according to Drapers.

Castore, which was named as the second fastest-growing private company in Britain in June 2023, has hired various new members to its leadership team this year, including Secret Sales exec Leon Shepherd as chief technology officer and JD Sports veteran Stuart Puddy as investment director.

The business secured £150m from new and existing backers in November, under a deal valuing it at almost £1bn.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter