North America has become JD Sports Fashion’s most important market, and the London-listed retailer is now making that shift official on the trading floor.
North America has become JD Sports Fashion’s most important market, and the London-listed retailer is now making that shift official on the trading floor.
The company had begun trading on the OTCQX Best Market. The move gives US investors more transparent, direct access to a stock that still trades primarily on the London Stock Exchange, where JD Sports will keep its main listing.
It is a procedural change, not a new listing or a US IPO, but reflects the business priorities and ambitions of JD Sports Fashion: North America now accounts for 38 percent of group revenue, making it the company’s largest single region, ahead of the UK. Chief executive Régis Schultz announced the move last week as a means to ensure US investors can engage with the business on transparent terms.
North America overtook the UK
Over the past several years, JD Sports built its North American footprint through a string of acquisitions — Finish Line, Hibbett, Shoe Palace and DTLR — that now give it more than 2,500 stores across the region under five banners, including its own JD Sports fascia.
Set against the group’s total footprint of 4,900 stores in 51 countries and £12.7 billion (€14.9 billion; $16.7 billion) in revenue for the year ended January 31, 2026, North America’s share of the business is now large enough to outweigh the UK, with US revenue estimated at roughly £4.7 billion (€5.5 billion; $5.9 billion). Elsewhere, the group also runs Size, Courir, Sprinter, Sport Zone, Cosmos and Go Outdoors, plus 102 JD Gyms sites in the UK.
That scale has come with a cost. The retailer has faced softer demand among its core youth demographic and falling sales of Nike product, which makes up a large share of its inventory: a drag that runs directly through the market the company is now foregrounding to US investors.
A World Cup narrative the filing itself doesn’t make
JD Sports’ American build-out may be seen in connection with the 2026 World Cup: JD Sports’ acquisition of Hibbett before the tournament, JD Sports’ role as retail partner to the Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish football associations, a “We’re In” marketing push tied to Scotland, and in-store tournament promotions. The whole picture talks of a long-term market commitment, which the OTCQX trading announcement makes more transparent.
