8 Jul 2010 07:00
INVESTOR DAY AND TRADING UPDATE
Today JJB will be hosting a presentation for analysts, shareholders and landlords at its newly refurbished store in Slough.
Company Trading
Since the Interim Management Statement and market update on 27th May, sales for the Company have continued in line with expectations notwithstanding England's premature exit from the World Cup. Sales for the six weeks from 24th May to 4th July were up 22.3% on a like-for-like basis. Sterling gross margin on a like-for-like basis over the same period was up 54.5% resulting in an overall like-for-like gross margin over the same period of 43.9%.
Cumulative like-for-like sales from 1 February 2010, the start of the financial year, to 4th July are positive 12.1% whilst cumulative gross margin for the same period is 43.8%, which is a 7.3 percentage point improvement on the comparative period last year and a 5.4 percentage point improvement since the end of the last financial year.
The Company's Sale commenced on 1st July which was 10 days later than the previous year.
Slough Store
The Slough store closed on 21st April and was re-opened as a trial format store on 21st May following its refit. Slough is an out of town store trading from approximately 11,000 sq.ft. Since its re-opening, sales have increased by 9% above the Company average whilst sterling margin has improved by 17%. This is consistent with expectations where the store refit focussed primarily on layout and navigation. The concept has been refined in the weeks following re-opening; testing and evaluation is now commencing. It is planned to refit a further 4 stores before the autumn to further test the learnings from Slough in different store environments.
No new financial information will be released at today's presentation. A copy of an information sheet handed out at the presentation will be placed on the Company's website this afternoon.
The Company's AGM will be held on 28th July, 2010.
For further information, please contact:
|
Maitland |
020 7379 5151 |
Neil Bennett Emma Burdett
A copy of this press release can also be viewed on the JJB Sports plc corporate website, www.jjbcorporate.co.uk
About JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc (JJB: LSE) is one of the UK's leading sports retailers. The group, headquartered in Wigan and listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, trades from 249 JJB branded retail stores in the UK and Ireland and employs approximately 7,600 people. Further information about the group can be found on the group's corporate website, www.jjbcorporate.co.uk