JD Sports shares jump 10% on plan to expand stores

The athletic leisurewear retailer is hoping to open between 250 and 350 new stores each year for the next five years

JD, which sells Nike, Adidas, and other sports fashion ranges primarily to customers under 30, will focus on adding new stores in the US, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

JD Sports will spend up to £3bn (€3.4bn) to open as many as 1,750 stores over the next five years, said its new chief executive Régis Schultz, outlining his plans for the retailer to become an athletic leisurewear "powerhouse".

Mr Schultz, a former boss of French retailer Monoprix, took over at the Ftse-100 company in September following a tumultuous period that culminated in the ousting of long-standing executive chairman Peter Cowgill in May.