JD Sports Fashion secures a significant foothold in Europe with its strategic acquisition of Courir for €520m ($452m).
- The deal enhances the JD Group’s presence across six countries, including France, Spain, and Portugal, with a total of 323 Courir stores.
- Courir’s unique offerings, including Naked stores focusing on women’s sneakers, enrich JD Sports’ appeal to a broader, fashion-conscious audience.
- The acquisition mandates the divestment of select stores in France and all stores in Portugal to Snipes, aligning with European Commission conditions.
- Despite recent revenue growth, JD Sports expects lower profits due to mild weather conditions impacting sales.
JD Sports Fashion has bolstered its European market presence with the €520 million acquisition of Courir, a prominent French sportswear and footwear retailer. Cleared by the European Commission, this strategic move allows JD Sports to integrate Courir’s extensive network of 323 stores located across France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Luxembourg into its operations.
This acquisition does not just extend JD Sports’ geographical footprint but also enhances its market demographics. Courir’s distinctive retail concepts include three stores under the name Naked, which cater specifically to women’s sneakers, providing an innovative approach to appeal more to female and fashion-conscious consumers. Additionally, Courir operates 36 franchise stores in regions such as north-west Africa, the Middle East, and French overseas territories.
As part of the agreement with the European Commission, JD Sports will divest 15 stores in France and all six stores in Portugal to the German retailer Snipes by the first quarter of 2026. This stipulation ensures compliance with competitive market regulations while allowing JD Sports to focus on optimizing its operations in other European regions.
JD Sports’ Chief Executive Officer, Régis Schultz, acknowledged the acquisition as an opportunity to diversify their customer base by incorporating more female and trend-focused consumers. “This acquisition will broaden the JD Group’s customer reach, adding a more female, fashion-conscious and older customer base to complement the group’s core customers,” Schultz stated confidently.
Financially, JD Sports reported a revenue increase of 5.2% for the 26 weeks ending on August 3, 2024, reaching £5 billion. This growth, however, does come with a caveat; full-year profit projections remain cautious, anticipated to be on the lower end of forecasts due to the mild October weather, which has affected typical seasonal sales patterns.
JD Sports’ acquisition of Courir marks a strategic expansion within the European sports retail landscape.
