JD Sports chief on 'challenging market' In its full year results, JD Sports has announced that profits are down 14% to £67m. The sports fashion retailer runs 350 JD Sports and Size? outlets and bought 290 Blacks and Millets stores after the firm went bust at the end of last year. Chief executive of JD Sports Peter Cowgill told the Today programme's Simon Jack that the acquisition of Blacks made a dent of £2m on the company's profits. He said that in terms of which stores will survive, it is still "a work in progress" but maintained that Blacks and Millets would stand as separate entities to JD Sports. "They are similar operators... offering a good selection of branded wear.. which is similar to JD Sports'," he said. Commenting on Mothercare's parent company having to shut more than 100 shops in the next three years due to what the company calls "weak trading," Mr Cowgill said that "the market is challenging... but JD has continued to be a positive opener of store." The re-organisation of Blacks, he explained, was due to the fact that it had "historically failed."