JD Sports boss on rioters: At least they like our stuff...

Chairman Peter Cowgill was sanguine. Mostly.
"The riots were a bit disturbing in some respects," he says. "But I guess they demonstrate the desirability of our merchandise."

A total of 16 stores in London, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham were hit by the disorder, with six in London suffering "very significant thefts".

Cowgill, a Lancastrian Manchester United fan with a blunt approach, declined to offer social commentary on the outbreak of lawlessness.

"There's politicians to determine that," he said.

"It is a small minority that were rioting. We have a very large target audience."

He was talking as JD unveiled strong half-year results. Sales are up 15% to £440 million, though profit slipped 13% to £16.5 million as margins were squeezed. JD was able to life the interim divi by 8% to 4.1p.

A JD store in Woolwich in London is still closed as fire damage is repaired but the rest of the stores were reopened by Sunday August 21.

Despite the effect of the riots and store closures, the chain said like-for-like sales excluding VAT increased by 1.6% in seven weeks to September 17, underscoring its credentials as one of the top performing retailers.

The McKenzie brand - JD's own - remains a particularly strong seller.