JD Sports, a sports fashion retailer, is opening its 10th location in Canada and is looking to open around fifteen more in 2023 – including expanding into the Quebec market.
The retailer is celebrating its first year in Canada in two weeks and since then has successfully opened ten stores, including a new location that is opening in Winnipeg on November 19th.
“In the last month, we have opened three stores. The new stores are in CF Lime Ridge in Hamilton, Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto, and in Bramalea City Centre in Brampton. And now we are going to be opening in Winnipeg at CF Polo Park in a few days. It is a market we are really excited to be in and there is a big range of JD customers in that area. From our social media, the response seems to be positive and people are looking forward to us coming to town,” says Khori Williams, the Director of Sales for JD Sports Canada.
Spanning 8,000 square feet, JD Sports at CF Polo Park in Winnipeg and will have a grand opening to celebrate being in a new market. CF Polo Park has top brands such as Michael Kors, Club Monaco, and Forever 21. It also includes a variety of restaurants and entertainment.
This store will be the 10th JD Sports store in Canada and the other locations are:
- CF Fairview Mall in Toronto (First store in Canada)
- Guildford Town Centre near Vancouver
- West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton
- CF Chinook Centre in Calgary
- Vaughan Mills near Toronto
- Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto
- Bramalea City Centre in Brampton
- Oshawa Centre near Toronto
- CF Lime Ridge in Hamilton
JD Sports was founded in 1981 in Greater Manchester in England and carries top brands such as Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Puma, Reebok, and more. Today, JD Sports has over 950 stores in 32 territories worldwide including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Asia, France, Singapore, Portugal, Germany, South Korea, and the United States. JD Sports decided to open stores internationally in 2010 where it opened its first international store in Lille, France. The retailer offers a variety of shoes, clothing, and accessories for men, women, and children. Where Will You See JD Sports Next? Although Williams was not able to specifically say where new locations will pop-up at this time, he mentioned JD Sports is looking at going into the East Coast, Saskatchewan, and into the Quebec market.
“What I can say is that we are looking at the Quebec market. It seems like a market that is growing, and we are seeing a lot of energy out there, especially for our industry.”
Williams said next year, he would like to see 10-15 new store openings and 80-100 new stores within the next five years in Canada.
With every store, JD Sports makes sure it feels “very local.”
“We want to represent the community we are in very well and service them with specific products. We recognize that it is not a one size fits all throughout Canada and every province is different. As a result, we want to make sure we are catering to those differences and ensuring that the entire family is able to shop at JD Sports – we have something for everyone.”
In addition to making stores feel local, Williams said JD Sports also offers sponsorships through the community, participates in different events, allows programs to occur within stores, and are always looking at local business to partner with to create experiences within the community.
Don’t miss out on new sneaker launches as with JD Sports, you can check out its Sneaker Release Dates for new sneakers that are coming out. Currently, the list is for all confirmed 2022 sneakers that have already been released and has launch dates of new sneakers where customers can track new releases and know what is coming. Customers can also make the decision to be notified once a sneaker they like is available. Right now, the release shows there will be two sneakers being released on November 11th. Sneaker release dates bring a new excitement into shopping as a customer can preview the shoe before it is in-store and knows exactly when the shoe will be available.
“This has been a long and entertaining ride that we have had and it has been fun and exciting. Everyone on our team is extremely happy to bring the JD Sports experience to Canada and we appreciate the positive feedback we have received since opening our first store at Fairview Mall a year ago now. In two weeks we will be celebrating our one year anniversary in Fairview Mall. Last year we had zero stores, and now we have ten – it is quite the accomplishment for us.”
Jordan Karp of brokerage Savills Canada has the mandate for JD Sports in Canada and is negotiating leases for new stores.
