JD Sports to close 175 Hibbett stores in post-acquisition overhaul

JD Sports is closing 175 Hibbett locations across the US as it integrates the $1.1 billion acquisition into a leaner store network.

JD Sports Plc will shutter about 175 underperforming Hibbett stores over three years, cutting roughly 17 percent of the acquired chain's footprint as the British retailer prioritizes profitability over scale in North America.

"Our net store movement last year was a reduction of 39 stores, demonstrating our fewer, bigger, and better store strategy," Regis Schultz, chief executive officer of JD Sports, said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

The closures target roughly 17 percent of the roughly 1,000 Hibbett locations JD Sports inherited when it completed the $1.1 billion acquisition in 2024. At the start of its fiscal year in February 2025, JD operated 999 Hibbett stores; that figure fell to 982 by January 2026 as the group consolidated operations. The company plans to open about 20 new JD-branded locations and convert 70 to 80 Finish Line stores to the JD format in North America, CFO Dominic Platt said.

The restructuring shows the challenge of integrating a sprawling US retail footprint into a European model built on smaller, higher-volume stores. JD Sports expects its total store count to remain "broadly flat" for the current fiscal year, suggesting the closures will largely offset new openings. The move follows a similar retrenchment by Foot Locker, which announced store closures last November after Dick's Sporting Goods acquired it for $2.4 billion in September 2025.

The 175-store closure plan represents the most aggressive step yet in JD Sports' effort to wring profitability from the Hibbett acquisition, which added a US chain concentrated in the Southeast and Midwest. Hibbett operated 1,169 stores across 36 states as of May 2024, according to the deal's press release, giving JD Sports a combined North American footprint of more than 2,000 locations when including its Finish Line and JD banners.

JD Sports' stock has fallen about 1.7 percent year to date and is up roughly 1.8 percent over the past 12 months, reflecting investor caution about the pace of the US integration. The company did not disclose the expected cost savings or one-time charges from the closures.

Hibbett's Shrinking Footprint

The store count reduction comes as US athletic footwear retailers face mounting pressure from changing consumer habits and a shift toward online shopping. Hibbett's smaller-format locations in mid-sized markets have struggled to compete with larger rivals such as Nike's direct-to-consumer operations and Dick's Sporting Goods.

JD Sports' strategy mirrors a broader industry trend. Foot Locker, which operated roughly 1,200 US stores before its acquisition by Dick's, has also been pruning its footprint. Dick's closed nine of its own locations in 2025 along with about 11 Foot Locker-owned stores and four licensed stores, though the company did not specify the total number of Foot Locker closures planned.

The North American restructuring is part of a broader global optimization at JD Sports. The group reduced its total store count by 39 locations last year, Schultz said, as it evaluates performance across its portfolio of more than 3,400 stores worldwide.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.