JD Sports still on track despite North American slowdown

Softening in trade in US and Canada would be offset by growth in demand for its sportswear in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, company said

'The US performance will probably catch the headlines but Europe and the UK are in rude health', analysts said.

JD Sports said there had been some softening in trade in its North American business in June, which would be offset by growth in demand for its trendy trainers and sportswear in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Despite the slowdown in its US and Canadian markets, the retailer stuck to forecasts for pretax profit to come in at about £1.04bn (€1.2bn) for the 12 months to the end of January.