JD Sports

History

The letters JD in JD Sports stand for the initials of the founders of the company, John & David. In 1981, the company was established by John Wardle and David Makin, trading from a single shop in Bury. In 1983, the company opened a store in the Arndale Centre in Manchester. In 1989, the first store opened in Oxford Street, London. In October 1996, the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In December 2001 it acquired nearly 200 further stores, with the acquisition of First Sport, from Blacks Leisure Group. In October 2005, it bought 70 stores, from the administrators of Allsports, whom entered administration in September 2005. In May 2005, Pentland Group bought Wardle's and Makin's shares for £44.6M; the pair later resigned from the board. In December 2007, the company bought out Bank Stores, which sold fashion clothing, such as Firetrap, Alu, Henleys & Adidas Originals for around £19M.

JD Sports is the official supplier and sponsor of numerous association football teams, players and associations. In August 2008, JD Sports announced sponsorship deals with Bournemouth, Charlton Athletic, Dundee United, Blackpool, Luton Town & Oldham Athletic; these sponsorship deals allow certain clubs to use the Carbrini brand. In May 2009, JD Sports acquired Chausport, which operated 75 small stores in France. In addition, JD acquired the rugby heritage brands 'Canterbury' and 'Canterbury of New Zealand' as well as 'The Duffer of St. George' and 'Kooga Rugby' brands.

In January 2011, JD Sports acquired Champion Sports for €19.6M, pending approval by the Irish Competition Authority. In January 2012, JD Sports purchased the troubled Blacks Leisure Group from administration for a total of £20 million. In February 2012, JD Sports acquired streetwear clothing brand FLY53, for an undisclosed sum. In February 2013, it purchased Cloggs, a shoe retailer, out of administration.