JD Sports in the UK recommends not ruling out Nike

British sports and fashion retailer JD Sports, one of Nike's biggest customers, on Tuesday gave the world's biggest sports brand by revenue a vote of confidence, with a senior executive saying it “will be fine.”

Late last month, Nike shares plunged after the group warned that its sales would fall this year, hit by faltering demand for its sports shoes as consumers covet newer brands such as On and Hoka.

However, Mike Armstrong, global managing director of FTSE 100-listed JD Sports, said it would be a mistake to dismiss Nike's prospects.

“Anyone who wants to dismiss Nike should probably look back at Nike's history in the market over the last 30 or 40 years. Nike will do well,” he told reporters at JD's newly refurbished flagship store in Westfield Stratford City, London.

JD also sells Adidas, On, Hoka and other sports brands.

“There have always been challenger brands over the years… That's the nature of the industry we're in. There will always be new companies, there will always be new competitors,” Armstrong said.

JD's share price has fallen 22% so far this year, hit by a profit warning in January and subdued first-quarter trading in its home market.

Armstrong declined to comment on current operations ahead of an upgrade planned for next month.

JD sees the Stratford store, which has the highest turnover in its global portfolio of more than 3,400 stores in 38 countries, as the model for its global rollout of larger format stores.

Features include a stock of 30,000 shoe boxes, a semi-automated conveyor system that can deliver a shoe box from the warehouse to the store in less than 30 seconds, more than 205 square meters of LED panels and wearable devices for all store workers.

So far, around 70 JD stores around the world have the same concept as Stratford and there are expected to be around 200 by the end of the year.

Last year, chief executive Regis Schultz said JD would spend up to 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) to open up to 1,750 stores over five years.