JD Sports appoints former North Face boss as non-executive director

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 14, 2019

JD Sports has announced that Kath Smith, former general manager and vice president of American outdoor brand The North Face, is joining its board with immediate effect.

A retail veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the sports industry, her career has also previously included senior roles at Adidas (including managing director for the UK and Ireland and managing director of Reebok in North Europe), and chief sales officer at private-sale sports e-tailer SportPursuit.

“I am pleased to announce that Kath has agreed to join the JD board. Her experience working with world class brands and a number of globally successful businesses will inevitably be of significant benefit to the JD business during a time of international growth,” said Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports.

The sports fashion retail group based in Bury said Smith’s significant brand experience will help it enhance its relationships with leading global brands. The group’s core business, JD Sports sells sports and casual wear brands including Nike, Adidas and The North Face; in fact these brands are stocked in many of the firm’s outdoor and sports retailers.

In the year ended 3 February 2019, JD Sports plc increased revenue by almost 50% to £4.7 million, while profit before tax was up 15.5% to £355 million.