JJB Still Struggling

Struggled sports retailer JJB Sports has warned that it is about to face some critical trading periods as it bids to get back onto steadier ground after announcing yet more big losses.

JJB have confirmed pre-tax losses of £66.5m for the six months to the end of July, up a staggering 177% compared with the same period last year.

Like-for-like sales which measures sales in stores open for more than a year also fell by 17.7% with total sales tumbling a fifth to £142.4m.

The Wigan based company boasts 195 stores and 4,500 employees.  Christmas, the January sales, the 2012 Games and the European football championships have been marked as key shopping periods, success in these periods will go a long way to helping them to continue.

In March of this year, the struggling retailer avoided administration for the second time after landlords and creditors threw their support behind an emergency rescue through a second CVA.

While the multi-million pound losses have almost tripled, chief executive officer Keith Jones remained optimistic.

He said, "Despite the consumer environment being extremely challenging and expected to remain so for the foreseeable future, our re-sized store portfolio and other cost-saving initiatives have allowed us to manage the business and maintain tight financial controls.

"Our focus on people and processes is yielding early wins and with the continued hard work from colleagues across the Group, I remain confident of JJB's return to profitability and growth.

"Our turnaround plan is now firmly established in the business and good progress has been made in a number of key areas, however there is much still to do."

Jones blamed the closure of unprofitable stores and the sell-out of old and obsolete stock as the main problems behind the balance sheet.

He added, "Despite the tough trading climate, the business is in better shape than of late and has the opportunity to develop the JJB proposition into a truly authentic sports retailer over the next few years."

Posted at 04:53PM Oct 31, 2011 by Marc Stenton in Insolvency  |  Comments[0]