JJB Sports is making investment in multichannel a central plank of its turnaround plan.
The sports retailer, which appointed chief executive Keith Jones to lead a turnaround programme in March this year, today highlighted multichannel development, such as the Collect@Store service that is currently being rolled out, as one of six key strategies for its future. The turnaround plan is expected to take up to three years to complete.
Other key strategies include improvements to the product range, stock control and ordering systems, store refurbishments, operational efficiencies and strengthening supplier relationships, while the focus will remain on its Serious About Sports tagline.
“We remain firmly of the view that our turnaround potential is in our own hands and are confident that significant operational improvements can be made to improve the performance of the business in 2011 despite the anticipated challenging trading environment,” said Jones. Those challenges include January’s rise in VAT to 20%.
The update came as JJB Sports today released its figures for the half-year to August 1. Total retail sales improved by 3% to £184.0m from £178.6m at the same time last year, while pre-tax losses narrowed by 44% to £24.0m from £42.9m last time. Like-for-like sales rose by 14.4%.
