JJB chief hits out at Sports Direct as his losses rocket

Lucy Tobin
24 Sep 2009

JJB Sports boss Sir David Jones today branded Mike Ashley's Sports Direct chain and the flagship Piccadilly Circus store Lillywhites in particular “a complete and utter tragedy” as half-year losses at his own sportswear chain soared 230% from £13.9 million to £42.9 million.

Jones admitted that JJB was still facing stock shortages due to suppliers “being very uncertain about the group's future”, and said that had contributed to the sportswear retailer's 42.5% slump in like-for-like sales.

Even taking out the effect of the chain's closure of 96 stores, sales were still down by almost a third. Jones said the stock position would not get back to normal until Christmas next year, partly because sports merchandise takes six months to arrive from order to delivery.

He said: “We're still here. A lot of people would have bet against that, and that has caused problems with getting stock from suppliers. Today's announcement shows a marked decline in retail operations largely because of stock shortages.”

JJB, which this month blew the whistle on its bitter rival Sports Direct for alleged price-rigging, kicking off an Office of Fair Trading inquiry into anti-competitive behaviour between the two companies, said the retail environment remains “challenging”. But it said there were “early signs” of improvement in recent weeks. Jones also warned that shoppers looking for Slazenger tennis gear, Everlast boxing kit or Karrimor outdoor clothing may have to go elsewhere in the future. The brands are some of those controlled by Ashley's Sports Direct in Britain, which were the subjects of the OFT's price-fixing investigation.

He said today that JJB had already held a “massive sale” aimed at “getting rid of the remnants of the brands that we don't want to feature going forward”.

Jones added: “The bulk of the brands that Ashley sells at discounted prices in his own stores are not part of the image that I want in JJB stores.”

The retailer tried to play down its role in the cartel inquiry, saying it was “co-operating with the OFT”. As whistle-blower, it was granted immunity, and Jones said: “We have no reason to expect that will change. It's a good thing for the company that this is now out in the open.”

He said the chain's recovery would stem from “being in the middle ground and offering a good service to the sports-conscious customer” rather than following the fashion route of rival JD Sports, which yesterday reported an 11% rise in first-half profits, or the flog-it-cheap style of Sports Direct.

Jones explained: “Rather than emulate, we're looking to be unique. We don't want what happened to Lillywhites to happen to us. It's a complete and utter tragedy, and looks like just any other Sports Direct shop.”