JD Sports Australia store to open in April

JD Sports has confirmed that its Australian store will open in April. The 540 sq. m. store in GPT's Melbourne Central would offer a range of leading global brands servicing men, women and children. The store would bring cross-category products ranging from footwear to apparel

JD Sports said that it would bring a never been seen before products on the Australian high street. The retailer would bring brands including Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Reebok, Ellesse, The North Face and Puma. Head of JD Australia Hilton Seskin said that the launch would not disappoint. He said that the shoppers would get the first pick of global launches, limited edition styles and JD exclusives from heavy-hitter brands. He added that as a global retailer, it has an access to the best products and higher tiered releases.

JD Sports executive chairman Peter Cowgill said that the company was hoping that Melbourne customers were excited by the extensive range of product that the company offers including the best sneakers and best environment from all the major brands. Cowgill said that it was a very proud moment that the company will be opening its first store in Australia.

Over the past month, JD Sports was looking for Australian casual and part-time sales assistants who would join the company. The staff should assist in the company's in-store visual merchandising, digital strategy and customer service management. The company was also advertising on Facebook and Instagram focusing on new-release sports shoes.

In August 2016, JD Sports has acquired Next Athleisure after the latter sold it to the global sportswear brand. JD Sports now owned 80 percent of Next Athleisure with the new company name JD Sports Fashion Holdings Australia. The company was expecting that it would grow by 2.99 percent from 2017. It was hoping to secure a slice in the sector currently dominated with Rebel Sport holding a 30 percent market share. IBISWorld estimated that the sector was earning $2 billion with market shares coming from Lorna Jane with 12.4 percent and Footlocker with 7.3 percent.

Retail Oasis strategist Pippa Kulmar said that JD Sports would be able to cope with the competition like other global entrants in the Australian market. Kulmar said that company was entering in the market where shoppers don't mind paying a little extra to get a high-quality product. She said that the exclusivity of stock would be the edge of the company as other exisiting retailer brands were offering limited stock selection.