When I bought sportswear and trainers specialist ( ) on 22 January, I thought it looked like the very best share to buy for the year ahead. This was a brilliant growth stock that had been bombing along for years, but had just sold off after a tough Christmas trading period. The board had issued a profit warning, and this allowed me to grab it at a discounted price.
Then all I had to do was sit back and wait for the cost-of-living crisis to ease. When the and shoppers started splashing cash on trainers again, the JD Sports share price would race out of the blocks. That was my reasoning.
It was wrong. Instead of being one of the best-performing shares on the over the last 12 months, it’s turned out to be the very worst of all. I called JD Sports shares completely wrong JD shares have lost almost half their value in that time, plunging by 43.
75%. That’s worse than (down 34.39%) and Mike Ashley’s (down 36.
77%). The fact that all three are in the retail sector tells us something. Having bought after the original profit warning and share price dip, I haven’t done as badly as some.
Personally, my stake in JD Sports is down 16.1%. It’s still not ideal.
I’m saying all this as a warning. I think the 2025 outlook for JD Sports is much, much brighter, but I’ve been wrong before. The group has been hit by forces largely beyond its control.
‘Higher for longer’ interest rates, the consumer slowdown, problems at key partner , Budget hikes to employer’s National Insurance,.
