JD Sports (JD.) has appointed Peter Agnefäll, the former chief executive of Ikea, as its new chair following a turbulent stretch for the FTSE 100 retailer.
Agnefäll, who spent more than two decades at the Swedish home furnishing giant, will succeed interim chair Darren Shapland from the beginning of September.
Shapland stepped into the role on a temporary basis after Andy Higginson made an abrupt departure from the position in April, ahead of his tenure expiring in July.
Higginson said at the time he was “proud of his time” at the company, in which JD oversaw a “tough period” in the sportswear market and expanded the brand in the US.
However, it later emerged his exit followed an attempted boardroom coup after he failed to convince fellow directors that chief executive Régis Shultz should be removed due to slowing sales and stalled progress in North America.
A number of executives at JD Sports were said to have agreed with Higginson, according to the Financial Times, but the outgoing chair failed to secure enough backing to avoid being forced out himself.
Retailer majority shareholder Pentland Group threw its weight behind Shultz in a significant blow to Higginson’s position on the board.
JD Sports said at the time it was “mutually agreed” between the former chair and the board that this “is the right time for a change of chair,” adding that “there has been no disagreement about the board’s continued support for the chief executive.”
Agnefäll began his career at Ikea as a business area manager in 2002, rising to deputy chief executive over a ten-year period before taking the top job in September 2013, a role he held for four years.
He was also appointed as a non-executive director of WPP in May 2026, further cementing his reputation as a seasoned boardroom operator across major international businesses.
The Swedish businessman arrives at JD Sports during a challenging trading period, with the company having warned of “muted” growth amid dampened consumer spending and cost pressures stemming from the Iran war.
Pre-tax profit at the FTSE 100 firm fell by 12 per cent to £629m in the year to January, even as sales rose by 12 per cent to £12.7bn, highlighting the squeeze on margins facing the retailer.
JD Sports issued wider profit guidance than it was “previously planning” to account for the “uncertainty” posed by the Iran war, forecasting a pre-tax profit of between £750m and £850m for the year ahead.