JD Sports starts to be dragged by slump

The high street must be tight - even JD Sports is feeling the pinch.

Today the sport fashion retailer revealed sales figures for the past two months that show it is not immune to the economic slowdown.

Sales are down 1.5% as its clientele -the young and mortgage free, mostly - cut back their spending.

JD Sports was one of the stores targeted in the summer riots. Stoic chairman Peter Cowgill remarked at the time that this simply demonstrated "the continuing desirability of our merchandise".

His gear remains a must-have for many, though the company expects a "tough" Christmas trading period.

Sales have been "impacted by the continuing downward pressure on all elements of discretionary consumer spending and the recent marked decline in consumer confidence". In the half year to the end of July, sales increased by 3.3%.

JD continues to outperform its rival JJB Sports, which reported a £66 million loss at the half-year stage.

JJB is in the midst of a recovery package after several years of intense difficulty that have seen it flirt with bankruptcy several times.

JD Sports shares fell 4%, down 32.5p at 782p.

At that price, the company is valued at £381 million.