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The JD Sports giant opens the door to Greece and Cyprus

By Giorgos Lampiris

JD Sports, the British sports retail giant, is officially entering Greece, having acquired an 80% stake in Cosmos Sport in 2021 (the remaining 20% ​​is held by the Tsiknakis family who founded the company). In particular, the first store of the chain is being created and is soon expected to operate in the Smart Park shopping center in Spata, now leasing one of the few spaces that were free for disposal.

Through the Cosmos Group, the development of the JD Sports store network in Greece

The JD Sports brand comes to Greece through its own interests, Cosmos Group, which has recently been responsible for the staffing of the new store in Smart Park as well as for the development of the store network in the near future.

Cosmos Group maintains in our country the trade names Cosmos Sport, Sneaker10, Sportsfactory, Slamdunk and Rundome, to which JD Sports is now added. As stated in a communication we had with him, the CEO of Cosmos Group, Michalis Tsiknakis, including the store in Smart Park, by the end of 2022 the operation of up to three JD Sports stores in Attica is planned. Then, in the first quarter of 2023, the operation of the first store in Cyprus is imminent. At the same time, by the end of October this year, the existing plan foresees the opening of the respective online stores for the two countries.

What differentiates JD Sports stores from other Cosmos Group brands is the fact that they will feature sports fashion products as well as collections from well-known sportswear brands exclusively.

Eight new stores were already operational within 2022

At the same time, Cosmos Group continues to develop its stores in Greece and Cyprus, with the most recent of them operating on Tsimiski Street in Thessaloniki (Cosmos Sport) as well as one more in Volos (Sneaker10). A total of 8 new stores have been opened so far this year.

Regarding the course of 2022, Mr. Tsiknakis refers to a year that presents significant difficulties for retail as a whole, due to the complications presented in the supply chain, while cost lines have also increased significantly, burdening the operation of businesses .

“As far as we are concerned, if we exclude the first quarter of 2022, tourism has appeared to be able to make a difference in the period after that. Given that we maintain stores in tourist areas such as Crete, central Athens, Rhodes and Corfu, we also notice a significant difference in our sales compared to the beginning of the year. At the seven-month level, an organic growth in comparable sales is recorded, while the new stores opened also offer significant further growth, due to the continuous expansion of the network us”.

At 82 million euros, the 2021 turnover

Currently, the company maintains 65 stores nationwide as well as in Cyprus. In 2021 its turnover reached 82 million euros, up from 52 million euros in 2020. This performance is largely due to the new points added to the network during 2021 as well.

As far as e-commerce is concerned, there is, according to Mr. Tsiknakis, a 30% drop globally, after the lifting of the restrictive measures, while as he says the world has not completely changed consumption habits, as many businesses expected that it could happen.

As far as Cosmos is concerned, e-commerce represents 35%-40% of total sales, a percentage that had even reached 50% when physical stores were closed due to the pandemic. “In any case, e-commerce continues to be an important cost factor and requires a long way to go until it becomes profitable. It primarily supports the physical store and not the other way around.”

With more than 3,400 stores in 32 countries and a turnover of £8.5 billion, the JD Sports Fashion group

The JD Sports Fashion Plc group, which owns the majority of Cosmos Group’s shares, has, based on the latest figures for the 2022 fiscal year (ended January 29, 2022), more than 3,400 stores in 32 countries. FY2022 turnover was up 38.8% to £8.5bn, up from £6.16bn in 2021.

Source: Capital

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