Sportsman Hibbett will close 175 U.S. stores over the next three years as its parent company, JD Sports, seeks to revamp its footprint.
JD Sports acquired Hibbett in 2024 in a deal valued at approximately $1.1 billion, with the acquisition seen as strengthening JD’s presence in the North American footwear market. Hibbett had 1,169 stores in 36 states as of May 2024, according to the deal’s press release.
Now the company is preparing to reduce the number of its stores as part of a cost-cutting strategy.
POPULAR CONVENIENCE STORE CHAIN CLOSES HUNDREDS OF STORES
JD Sports will close approximately 175 Hibbett Sports stores over the next three years, the company said. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CEO of JD Sports Regis Schultz said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call that its “second key strategic initiative is to drive store productivity and optimize our store fleet.” Our net store movement last year was a reduction of 39 stores, demonstrating our strategy of fewer, bigger and better stores.
“In North America, we will leverage the group’s best practices to optimize the footprint and profitability of EBIT stores. As part of this, we will close approximately 170 underperforming EBIT stores over the next three years,” added Schultz.
JD said that at the start of its financial year in February 2025 there were 999 Hibbett stores and this fell to a total of 982 by the end of its financial year in January 2026 as the group consolidated its operations following the Acquisition of Hibbett.
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JD Sports said it would focus on closing underperforming Hibbett Sports sites. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
JD chief financial officer Dominic Platt added that the group plans to open around 20 new JD stores as well as convert between 70 and 80 Finish Line stores into JD locations in North America.
After taking into account JD Sports’ plans in Europe, the group expects its total store count “to remain broadly stable for the year”, Platt said.
JD Sports shares is down about 1.7% year to date and is up about 1.8% from last year.
DICK’S SPORTING GOODS PLANS TO CLOSE SOME FOOT LOCKER STORES
Hibbett was acquired by JD Sports for $1.1 billion in 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The news arrives as that of Hibbett retail shoes rival Foot Locker announced plans to close stores last November following its $2.4 billion acquisition by Dick’s Sporting Goods in September 2025.
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The company did not say how many Foot Locker locations would close, although nine Dick’s locations will close in 2025, along with approximately 11 Foot Locker-owned stores and four licensed stores.