Britain’s JD Sports Says Chairman Higginson to Step Down

British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said on Wednesday its chairman Andrew Higginson will step down from the role in July. Higginson has chaired the group since 2022. He will leave after its annual shareholders meeting on July 21, Reuters reported. Higginson, a retail ⁠veteran who was ⁠a long serving executive at Tesco before chairing Morrisons, oversaw the global expansion of JD Sports with about 40% of its business now ⁠in the United States. He also transformed its governance framework. Analysts said his imminent departure was a surprise. JD Sports said its board has started the process to find a successor. It said independent non-executive director Darren Shapland will become interim chair following the July ⁠AGM ⁠until a permanent chair is appointed. In January, JD Sports reported a fall in underlying sales over the key Christmas trading period. Its shares are down 9.5% so far this year, giving it a market capitalization of 3.7 billion pounds ($5.0 billion).