JD Sports Fashion plc reported a 5.3% like-for-like fall in the UK, with organic sales down 4.8%, according to its Q4 2025/26 trading update.

In a financial statement covering the nine-week period to 3 January 2026, which was released today  (21 January), the business reported year-to-date basis (48 weeks), UK like-for-like sales were also negative at –4.0%.

Despite the soft UK performance, JD says it remains on track to deliver full-year profit in line with market expectations.

The group is also accelerating e-commerce platform rollouts in the UK and Europe, alongside supply chain automation and AI-driven commerce initiatives.

Régis Schultz CEO of JD Sports said: “Overall sales during the peak period were in line with our expectations, against a volatile consumer backdrop.

“Black Friday saw strong customer engagement across all regions, but demand softened in the first half of December, particularly in Europe and the UK. We responded decisively in the final weeks of the period by choosing to make targeted price investments, and we saw improved sales in the immediate run-up to Christmas Day and the period after, demonstrating the strong customer appeal of JD and its complementary fascias, in a challenging market.”

He added: “We were pleased to see a marked improvement in our like-for-like sales trend in North America, our largest market, where we returned to growth and delivered further market share gains, supported by disciplined execution of our trading plan.

“JD’s brand awareness continues to grow in the US and, building on this momentum, we have decided to increase our marketing initiatives in North America in the coming year to accelerate our growth plans in the region.”

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