JJB: The challenge ahead

JJB Sports chief executive Keith Jones has done well to avoid the permanent relegation of the retailer from the high street. He inherited a business that had been catapulted from retail’s Premier League to the Conference. The failure of previous managements to address the growing threat from Sports Direct, misguided acquisitions and recessionary trading conditions led JJB to be stretchered off the pitch.

Life has hardly been easier since. There was a CVA last year, Jones hasn’t had money to make business improvements and sometimes he’s barely had stock to put on the shelves. Last week’s strategic tie-up with US giant Dick’s Sporting Goods, which will inject much-needed investment cash into JJB, is surely the last chance to return JJB to form.

The deal should enable JJB to overhaul its tired storesto a model which has performed well in the limited revamps so far, draw on the expertise of a world-class retailer and, crucially, it has the backing of important supplier Adidas.

Rival Sports Direct has threatened to react with all the weapons in its armoury – “price, price and price” in the words of boss Dave Forsey. The challenge for JJB will be to successfully pitch itself to shoppers on other grounds such as specialist credentials and service standards.

But as the recession showed, price isn’t necessarily the only sales driver. Some retailers that performed best were not the cheapest, although they always delivered value.

JJB will need to strike exactly the right tone in its appeal to shoppers. Last week’s announcement from Dick’s referred to “serving the needs of core athletes”.

Not so long ago JJB back-pedalled on its ‘Serious about sport’ strapline because it was seen as off-putting to many potential customers. Certainly JJB must serve active sports people, but to be successful long-term it also needs to appeal to the couch-potatoes who wear football shirts but whose participation goes little further than watching Match of the Day.