New year, same story on profits from JD Sports - but the chain is hardly on its uppers just yet

It cannot expect every part of its empire to be buzzy at the same time. It could be a long wait for gentler conditions in the UK and US

- Nils Pratley

It wasn't a full-on profits warning - more of a 5%-ish trim to forecasts. But JD Sports' trading update will feel particularly disappointing to its shareholders because this is the second January in a row that the sportswear retailer has delivered a new-year downer on profit expectations. The spiel was also identical, more or less.

A year ago, the group blamed "more cautious consumer spending" and "an elevated level of promotional activity during the peak trading period". Yesterday it cited "a challenging and volatile market that saw increased promotional activity" as revenues fell 1.5% at established stores in November and December. The only meaningful difference is that last year offered an opportunity to whinge about the weather - too mild to flog fleeces, apparently, which wasn't the case this time.