A well-known UK sports retailer is planning to shutter 175 stores in the United States following challenges in its international operations. JD Sports will be closing down 175 Hibbett stores in America over the next three years to concentrate on more lucrative locations.
The British company acquired the Alabama-based brand in 2024 for $1.1 billion as part of its expansion strategy in the US. Currently, Hibbett operates nearly 1,200 stores nationwide.
In recent years, the sporting goods retailer has encountered stiff competition, particularly from Dick’s Sporting Goods, which acquired Foot Locker for $2.5 billion. To address these challenges, JD Sports has opted to streamline its operations by closing underperforming stores and redirecting its focus toward more popular locations.
According to CFO Dominic Platt, the objective is to establish “fewer, larger, and superior” stores that drive increased sales and facilitate greater investments in technology, store design, and enhancing the overall customer experience.
JD Sports CEO Régis Schultz emphasized that the smaller stores were not generating sufficient profits to justify their continuation. Schultz highlighted the operational challenges associated with smaller stores in terms of staffing and profitability, contrasting them with the leverage afforded by larger stores to invest in technology and enhance services.
Additionally, JD Sports Fashion has already closed more than 20 stores in the UK. The company attributed its declining profits to geopolitical factors, citing issues such as the situation in the Middle East as impacting its financial performance.
