UK clothes chain closes shops and issues prices alert - 400 stores across country

A major UK sportswear giant has warned that the war in the Middle East could drive up prices after closing 24 of its stores. JD Sports Fashion, which has 4,811 stores worldwide, has shut 24 shops in the UK over the past year as it pressed ahead with its focus on "fewer, bigger, better" stores. The company said that, while it had no "direct exposure" to the Middle East and only a handful of franchised shops in the region, over time the effects of the war may start to be felt. "Over time, the potential future impacts of heightened uncertainty may contribute to direct cost pressures, including energy and fuel costs across our store and logistics networks, respectively, as well as potential indirect impacts on pricing and consumer demand should input cost inflation emerge." JD said that, as a result of the uncertainty, it was providing a wider range of profit guidance for the next financial year than it was previously planning. It was now forecasting a pre-tax profit of between £750 million and £850 million. This would mark a decline from the £852 million pre-tax profit that the company made for the year to the end of January 2026, which was down 6.4 per cent compared with the previous year. Total organic sales for the group, which excludes the impact of acquisitions, increased by 2.1 per cent year on year to £12.66 billion. But in the UK, it blamed a "tough consumer backdrop" for organic sales declining by 2.5 per cent, and sales on a like-for-like basis dropping by 3.9 per cent. Since the end of the financial year, JD said cold and wet weather had dampened sales and that trading in April was "volatile" with a strong Easter performance followed by fewer visitors to shops. Regis Schultz, JD's chief executive, said: "We delivered a resilient performance, achieving organic sales growth of 2.1% despite tough market conditions. "Our deep understanding of our customers and lifestyle trends give us a clear view of how they want to shop and spend, allowing us to consistently deliver the right products, in the right places and at the right prices." He added: "Whilst we continue to expect muted market growth in FY27, we remain confident in JD Group's medium‑term trajectory, underpinned by our strong brand partnerships and agile, multi‑brand model."