JD Sports will put Foot Patrol back on its feet again

JD, which bought the Foot Patrol brand in 2008, will open a stand­alone Foot Patrol shop in London’s Soho later this month. The opening, on Berwick Street, will coincide with its launch online.

Foot Patrol was previously located in St Anne’s Court in Soho from 2002 until 2008 but closed in March of that year and the name was subsequently sold to JD. It was known as a mecca for trainer geeks seeking exclusives and older stock that was discontinued in traditional stores.

JD Sports chief executive Barry Bown said he will reinstall products such as high-end exclusives and “dead stock”. He said: “If you want a

fantastic pair of trainers from three

or four years ago you can get it there.”

He said he wanted the shop to be run relatively independently from JD, with the store managers taking control of marketing, social media and fulfilling the website orders.

Brands will include Supreme, Visvim and Adidas Consortium. Bown said Foot Patrol will sit above its 17-store chain Size?, but added “ultimately some of these brands could be dropped into Size?”. At present, Size? tests some footwear brands that are then sold in JD shops, and Foot Patrol could do the same with Size?.

Footwear is a large part of JD’s business, and 51% of footwear sales come from just 30% of store space at its eponymous fascia.

The Foot Patrol store, which will be around 800 sq ft, will also have a communal area with seating in the window and a bike rack. Bown said he hoped it “will be more than just a shopping destination”.

He added: “Shaftesbury [the West End landlord] owns the store and wants to lift the profile of the street.”

Foot Patrol co-founder Michael Kopelman, who has worked alongside JD since it bought the name, has kept up relations with suppliers and overseen the buying for the store.