Opinion: JD Sports on the ball, but action must be swift

It appears that JD Sports is well aware of this.

The retailer has been thrust into the spotlight after Channel 4’s undercover investigation into some of the worrying behaviour at its Rochdale warehouse.

The footage of supervisors barking at workers and tales of people being sacked for sitting down is shocking. Clearly it has not pleased JD’s top team.

As the company said this morning it is “deeply disappointed and concerned” at the footage.

As well the retailer should be.

It will have seen how a similar story at its bitter rival Sports Direct caught fire leading to its name being dragged through the gutter and resulting in an MP-led investigation.

Sports Direct is still reeling from the fall-out of the story, many months after The Guardian exposé.

It does make you wonder after all that Sports Direct has been through how JD Sports has allowed this situation to occur.

But early signs show that JD is taking a better PR approach than Mike Ashley’s firm.

It has vowed to launch an investigation into what Channel 4 has exposed and has promised to retrain supervisors.

No doubt JD Sports well have been inspired to move extra fast as MP Iain Wright, who has led the probe of Sports Direct, is already threatening a review.

It will be interesting to see is if the issue affects JD Sports’ trading in any material way as shoppers think twice about buying their trainers from the chain.

But with so many similar scandals, shoppers could almost be forgiven for getting boycott-weary.

Nevertheless with Channel 4 likely to hold JD Sports’ feet to the flames, it needs to make its investigation swift and decisive.