JD Sports Fashion's move into Mexico opens up one of Latin America's faster-growing activewear markets, according to analysts at Citi.
The FTSE 100 sportswear retailer said on Monday it had struck a franchise partnership with Grupo Axo to launch the JD brand in the country, with the local operator running stores and e-commerce using JD's brand and intellectual property.
Citi noted that operations are due to begin in 2027 with 140 stores, equivalent to around 7% of JD-branded outlets worldwide and a significant step up from the 75 JD Sports and Courir franchise stores already in the region.
The US bank pointed to the scale of the opportunity, estimating Mexico's activewear market at about $6.5 billion, with forecasts for it to exceed $10 billion by 2034, growth of roughly 5% a year underpinned by the country's young population.
Citi also highlighted the pedigree of JD's chosen partner.
Grupo Axo already operates across Mexico, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, with more than 8,000 points of sale spanning 50 brands including Nike, The North Face and Speedo.
JD ended its last financial year with 2,088 JD-branded stores worldwide, including 874 in North America.
