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"JJB" redirects here. For the Star Wars character, see Jar Jar Binks.
JJB Sports plc
Company typePublic limited company
IndustryRetail
Founded1971
HeadquartersWigan, England, UK
Key people
David Jones
(Executive chairman)[1]
Roger Lane-Smith
(Deputy chairman)[2]
Dave Whelan
(Honorary President)
ProductsClothing
Sportswear
Sports equipment
Health Clubs
£46.4 million
£34.6 million
Number of employees
9,417
WebsiteJJB Sports Online
JJB Sports store in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, August 2009

JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. Since early 2009 JJB has been in financial difficulties in talks with banks to secure its future.[3]

History

The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early 1900s and later was purchased by JJ Bradburn. As these initials were all the same the business was known locally as JJB's. When Whelan bought the store from Bradburn, he kept the JJB name.

During the early 1990s, the store portfolio grew to 120 stores by 1994, at which point the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In 1998, JJB bought its largest domestic competitor Sports Division. The acquisition made JJB one of the largest sports retailers in the UK, focusing on sports clothing rather than sports equipment.

Duncan Sharpe, chief executive of JJB sports, committed suicide in 2002. Mr Sharpe had been with JJB Sports for 19 years and was the son-in-law of the firm's founder Dave Whelan. By 2005, JJB had expanded to over 430 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. It had also opened a new branch in Amsterdam in 2002.

On 8 June 2007, Whelan sold his residual 29% stake in the firm for £190 million to Icelandic financial group Exista and Chris Ronnie, a sports retailer who previously worked at Umbro and Sports Direct.[4]

On 19 October 2007, JJB bought a 10.1% stake in Umbro in a move to protect its stake in the market for England football shirts.[5] This stake was sold in its entirety to Nike in March 2008.

In December 2007, JJB announced that they had purchased the Original Shoe Company for £5 Million. JJB considered converting some of the smaller JJB High Street stores stores into OSC stores, keeping OSC as a separate division of the JJB group which would share JJB's buying, financing and marketing functions.

In September 2008 JJB released a less than impressive set of interim results,[6] which included a warning from the auditors raising doubts over JJB's future as a going concern. This is due to a short term loan repayment of £20 million due before the end of 2008. It was noted that if this could not be repaid from normal trading cashflow then JJB will be advised to sell some (unspecified) non-core assets to cover the shortfall. JJB's net worth was only £28 million in the beginning of October 2008.

In October 2008 the value of JJB shares fell to less than 10% of the value at the time of Dave Whelan's share sale to Chris Ronnie and Exista. This was partly in response to the interim financial report and also as a result of Coface removing credit insurance from debts owed by JJB to their suppliers.[7]

On 10 February 2009, JJB put their Qube and Original Shoe Company subsidiaries into administration after failing to find a buyer.[8] By the end of the week the Group secured a reprieve from its bankers to avoid putting the whole group into administration.[3]

On 20 June 2009, JJB was reportedly sold for 1.2Billion pounds to JJDevin, an Irish billionaire.Talks are now going ahead to change the name to JJD. On 13 October 2009, JJD admitted that former executives were being investigated by both HM Revenue & Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.[9]

Exclusivity

JJB’s strategy continues to be based upon strong product offerings from the premium brands of Nike, Adidas and Reebok supported by a range of smaller sports brands offering “value-for-money” products including those from:

JJB holds a licence to retail their products either exclusively or substantially within the UK. The licensed products are designed, developed and sourced by JJB’s own in house team.

Marketing

JJB Sports launched their shopping site, JJB Sports Store, with a view to expanding their market. The majority shareholder of JJB Sports Plc was Dave Whelan but his 99% stake was sold off. As well as sports clothing, JJB also operates a number of health clubs. The JJB "Soccerdomes", large centres for five-a-side football played predominantly on omniturf pitches, were sold to Powerleague in 2007. JJB is also the official retail partner to two of the UK's biggest shopping centres, Thistles Centre and Howgate, and was the main shirt sponsor for local English Premier League outfit Wigan Athletic F.C. and until the end of the 2008 season rugby league Superleague club Wigan Warriors. It also gave its name to the stadium at which both clubs play (JJB Stadium).

Price fixing

In 2003 JJB Sports were fined £8.3 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for fixing the price of England and Manchester United shirts in 2000 and 2001.[10] Which? consumer magazine issued proceedings against JJB Sports to sue the high street retailer for damages on behalf of consumers who were affected by the price fixing.[11]. JJB may be fined a further £41.3 million for distorting the tennis racket market with its 'Slazenger' range in 2008.

JJB & MiFit fitness clubs

JJB operated approximately 60 Health & Fitness Centres all over the UK. One in Wigan was so successful that eventually the nearby Fitness First club was offered for sale to JJB, and its remaining members assimilated into the JJB Health Club.

In September 2008, JJB Sports launched MiFit.[12] Branded as the "cheapest premium gym in the UK", members pay a one off joining fee and then £9.95 a month. The first gym to open was in Cardiff, with the gym being located above and accessed via a JJB Sports store. A second gym will be opened in Reading in 2009. Signage and accessories of the gym are branded MiFit.com. MiFit is a separate brand from JJB Health Clubs and there is no crossover between the two clubs.

There was interest in purchasing the fitness clubs, and on 26 March 2009 JJB sold them, the attached stores, and the MiFit gym to DW Sports Fitness for £83.4m.[13]

References

  1. ^ "JJB Sports plc Board of Directors". JJB Sports Corporate. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  2. ^ "Roger Lane-Smith". JJB Sports Corporate. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  3. ^ a b JJB wins stay of execution as Stylo folds, The Independent, 14 Feb 2009
  4. ^ JJB founder David Whelan sells up, BBC News, 8 June 2007
  5. ^ "JJB Sports acquires 10% in Umbro". BBC News. 19 Oct 2007.
  6. ^ JJB Interim Results 2008
  7. ^ JJB Sports under pressure as insurers pull plug, Daily Telegraph
  8. ^ "JJB Sports puts fashion stores into administration". The Guardian. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  9. ^ Organised crime bureau probes ex-JJD directors, The Times, 14 Oct 2009
  10. ^ JJB fights on despite cut in replica kit fine, The Guardian
  11. ^ Which? issues legal proceedings against JJB Sports
  12. ^ MiFit.com
  13. ^ JJB press release, 26 Mar 2009
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