JD Sports sales rise despite footflow

JD Sports offered a glimmer of good news from the High Street - saying sales were strong and reporting a 71% jump in half year profits. The firm, which has 430 shops, made £9.1m in the six months to 2 August, with like-for-sale sales up 6%, reported the BBC.

JD Sports stores stock large amounts of own-brand clothing - such as McKenzie - and are less reliant on replica football kits than rivals. The firm has been overhauling stores and closing underperforming sites.

As well as the JD Sports brands, it also operates more fashion driven shops, Bank and Scotts, with executive chairman Peter Cowgill saying the firm was "bridging the gap between sport and fashion".

He told the BBC the firm's success was "mainly down to product differentiation displayed in a genial store environment".

And while the number of people coming into stores had fallen slightly, sales had risen, Mr Cowgill added."This suggests the products we are offering have been well received by consumers."