JD Sports boss Régis Schultz says he expects some pushback from staff about his decision to bring them back to the office four days a week, but insists the decision is “the right way to do it”.
As was first revealed by Retail Week on May 1, JD Sports has ordered staff at head offices in the UK and around the world to begin returning to the office four days a week from July 1.
The move followed similar announcements from other retailers such as THG, Boots, L’Oréal and Amazon.
Speaking today, chief executive Schultz said the move was part of a “general trend” in business and said that staff unwilling or unable to comply with the order would not be let go as a result.
“We are certainly not the first ones to move on that side [returning to the office] and I think that we feel that that’s the right way to work,” he said.
“There’s always some pushback when you change something, but I think our staff understand that this is the right way to do it and we’re not expecting or looking at anything significant.”
Schultz was speaking on the day JD Sports posted its results for the 52 weeks to February 3, 2024.
Profits were in line with the profit warning it issued in January 2024, while footwear sales were up by 8.2% and apparel sales slipped 4.3%.
Schultz said the retailer’s UK market performance was “in line with Europe and the US” but added “there are more and more people wearing sneakers and athleisurewear around the world”.
“We believe that in the long to mid-term we are on course in the market,” he said, adding that JD Sports was not seeing any inflation in the UK.
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