{"id":1234737418,"date":"2024-12-03T09:09:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T14:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/?p=1234737418"},"modified":"2024-12-03T10:44:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T15:44:32","slug":"jd-sports-retailer-of-the-year-fnaa-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/jd-sports-retailer-of-the-year-fnaa-2024-1234737418\/","title":{"rendered":"How JD Sports’ North America Expansion in 2024 Led to Its FNAA Retailer of the Year Award"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On Dec. 4, JD Sports will be honored with the Retailer of the Year award at the 38th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine\u2019s Dec. 2 print issue about the retailer’s success in North America and beyond.<\/em><\/p>\n

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North America has long been a key part of JD Sports\u2019 global ambitions, but in 2024, it became the largest market for the U.K.-based retailer, generating 35 percent of total revenues in the first half of the year. <\/p>\n

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Perhaps the company\u2019s most notable win in the market occurred in July, when it closed the acquisition of American retailer Hibbett<\/a> and added 1,179 stores to its portfolio across the U.S. in markets outside of JD\u2019s existing fleet. <\/p>\n

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Market watchers called it a savvy move. \u201cThey now have an off-mall strategy that they can go nationwide with, in addition to the mall strategy of JD,\u201d said Matt Powell, an advisor at Spurwink River and senior advisor at BCE Consulting. \u201cThe two banners really complement each other.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Aside from the Hibbett acquisition, JD opened 24 new doors across North America and converted 13 Finish Line stores to the JD banner in the first half of the year. During that period, its revenue in North America grew 14.5 percent to 1.2 billion pounds. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBeing awarded Retailer of the Year is testament to the strength of our teams and our unrivaled understanding of youth culture and how our customers want to shop and be engaged,\u201d JD Sports chief executive officer R\u00e9gis Schultz told FN in a statement. \u201cIt also reflects the strides taken in delivering our growth strategy this year. I want to thank the JD team around the world who continue to go the extra mile to deliver exceptional results for our customers.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\"R\u00e9gis
JD Sports CEO R\u00e9gis Schultz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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JD Sports first entered the U.S. market in March 2018 when it acquired the Finish Line banner for $558 million. It furthered its investment in 2020, when it purchased Shoe Palace<\/a> Corp. for $325 million, and in February 2021, when it bought DTLR<\/a> for $495 million. Since then, the company has continued to make inroads in the region by applying its European model to North America. That is, offering a brand-focused, immersive, head-to\u2013toe shopping experience. <\/p>\n

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\u201cThere was a pretty significant objective to bring the JD brand to North America,\u201d said John Hall, president and managing director of JD North America. \u201cJD has been greatly successful in the U.K. The group had already built an incredible business model. From there, it was a matter of adapting that model for the North American marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The retail giant has also made efforts to leverage its relationships with key brands for North America-specific benefits. In August, JD said it had extended its retail partnership with Nike<\/a> to offer the Nike Connected Membership program to its U.S. customers. With this expansion, JD\u2019s U.S. customers were given access to select Nike member-only footwear and apparel when they opt to link their JD Status and Nike Membership accounts through the retailer\u2019s website or mobile app. As of October, there were 5.1 million active members of the JD Status loyalty program in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNike is a significant part of our business and a great brand partner,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThis was a way in which we could strengthen our partnership and increase our level of connectivity with our shared customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nike aside, JD takes pride in its broad assortment of footwear and apparel brands in its stores. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are truly multibrand,\u201d Schultz said in a call with analysts in October, in which he highlighted brands like Asics, New Balance and Adidas. \u201cBeing European, we tend to have more brands. And the U.S. retailer, especially the sportswear one, has been very much focused on Nike.\u201d <\/p>\n

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To fill its shelves across the globe, JD balances a global assortment strategy with a more tailored approach for different consumers, especially as it looks to cater to America\u2019s various regions. <\/p>\n

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\u201cJD has a presence across the U.S., and we know that consumer desires vary from region to region,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe take note of the trends and preferences in each area, catering to those differences, while also serving up some products that JD carries globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Success in the U.S. has helped power growth for JD globally. In the first half of the year, JD delivered revenue of 5 billion pounds (or $6.36 billion at current exchange), a 5.2 percent increase from 4.8 billion pounds (or $6.1 billion) the prior year. Net profit before tax and adjusted items was 405.6 million pounds ($515.8 million) in the period, up 2 percent from the same time last year. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are delighted that customers across the world trust JD to showcase the best and most fashionable items in the world of sports fashion,\u201d Schultz told FN in a statement.<\/p>\n

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For 38 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards \u2014 often called the \u201cShoe Oscars\u201d \u2014 have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2024 event is supported by sponsors Listrak, Marc Fisher, Nordstrom and Vibram.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A robust store expansion plan, a highly visible retail acquisition and deep connections with key brands contributed to JD’s stellar year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190673838,"featured_media":1203383007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","pmc-gallery":[],"categories":179,"subcategories":378251816,"mt_seo_title":"JD Sports Wins Retailer of the Year Award FNAA 2024","mt_seo_description":"North America has long been a key part of JD Sports\u2019 global ambitions, but in 2024, it became the largest market for the U.K.-based retailer.","mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"off","_pmc_canonical_override":"","instant_articles_should_submit_post":false,"_sailthru_selected_alerts":[],"_sailthru_send_override":false,"_sailthru_alert_subject":"","_sailthru_breaking_news_meta_data":[],"experimental_features_inline_styles":"","linked_video_id":"","pmc_hubs_hide_header":false,"override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-12-03T14:09:54Z","apple_news_api_id":"286c8659-3d62-4f14-9027-1d745c166f21","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-12-03T15:44:54Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AKGyGWT1iTxSQJx10XBZvIQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"[]","_pmc_automated_related_links":{"settings":{"module_name":"Related","hide_box":0},"data":[{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true}]},"overlay_text_placement":[],"overlay_text_one":[],"overlay_text_two":[],"kicker_meta_block_field":[],"_pmc_kicker":[],"pmc_multiple_products_title":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[179,378251816],"tags":[376358185,378236126,378240209],"post_format":[],"_post-options":[],"pmc_ads_suppression":[],"editorial":[378246937,378246939],"ep_custom_result":[],"coauthors":[378248914],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How JD Sports’ North America Expansion in 2024 Led to Its FNAA Retailer of the Year Award","url":"http:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/jd-sports-retailer-of-the-year-fnaa-2024-1234737418\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/footwearnews.com\/business\/business-news\/jd-sports-retailer-of-the-year-fnaa-2024-1234737418\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1232272992.jpg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1232272992.jpg"},"articleSection":"Business News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shoshy Ciment"}],"creator":["Shoshy Ciment"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Footwear News","logo":"https:\/\/footwearnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/cropped-fn_favicon2.png"},"keywords":["fnaa","jd sports","retail","business","business news","daily headlines","two column \u2013 daily"],"dateCreated":"2024-12-03T14:09:37Z","datePublished":"2024-12-03T14:09:37Z","dateModified":"2024-12-03T15:44:32Z","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{}},"rendered":"