Can an overhauled JD keep its crown as ‘King of the streets’ in tough times?

The group, long dominated by Peter Cowgill, has been rocked repeatedly by scandal. But will a more conventional structure rob it of its edge?

JD Sports: still the ‘King of the streets’? (PA)

JD Sports Fashion proclaimed itself “King of the streets” in its 2021 Christmas ad. The man who put it on that throne was a bluff, 69-year-old white guy.

Peter Cowgill could be the antithesis of cool. He is now out of a business, which last week promised to overhaul the quixotic structure he had put in place and bring itself more in line with what’s considered best practice in corporate Britain. Can it do that without throwing the baby’s new Nikes out with the bathwater?

Cowgill was the finance director at JD’s float in the 1990s, and has led the company since 2004, having been brought back into the business after it had started to wobble.