Can a specialist sports retailer survive?

I fear for JJB Sports plc. In the run-up to Christmas I’ve had cause to get involved in a lot of sports-related shopping, both online and on the high street! I’m not convinced that there is still a viable business model for a national chain of sports sports which genuinely specialise in sporting goods (equipment and clothing).

Yesterday was a good case in point.

Early in the morning we took a home delivery of some substantial (and expensive!) sports goods from an specialist online retailer (Millett Sports). They had been able to order and deliver the product within 48 hours, despite the disruptive weather and pressure on their supply chain. Very impressive. That brought to a total of at least ten sports-related presents which we had ordered from a variety of online retailers or, in the case of Nike, direct from their European online hub in the Netherlands. We hadn’t set foot in a retail shop once - until yesterday.

We had just one more thing to buy. Not a present, but something which we needed to try before we bought - a pair of boys training shoes.

So we decided to brave what we believed would be the busiest shopping day before Christmas. Arriving at the JJB Sports superstore in a busy out-of-town retail park I was struck by just one thing. The store was like the Marie Celeste. Deserted. There were five staff and one customer - me. And it stayed that way for the entire 30-40 minutes we were there.

We found the trainers. The JJB store was packed full of stock and the service we received was top class. The result - a satisfied customer. But I left fearing for the future of JJB. The business has repositioned itself as being “serious about sport”. In other words, it is a genuine sports shop (unlike SportsDirect which resembles a poorly organised jumble sale). But is that enough to drive customers to JJB’s stores? I suspect many customers like me - who are looking for specialist sporting goods - and now predominantly shopping online. The market demand in that segment has shifted online, and I’m convinced that change is permanent.

Where does that leave JJB Sports? Today we learn that, after further depressing news for shareholders about declining sales, JJB is looking to raise further capital from shareholders. JJB’s banks look supportive, for now. But for how long?