Publish Date :
JD Sports Hits 98% On-Shelf Availability: Why the Right Sizes Matter Most
Footwear availability depends on the size a customer requests and whether that pair can reach the selling floor in time. Merchmix Core Plus and Yukti address the upstream planning and stock-response questions; accurate shop-floor execution is a separate part of the chain.
THE MERCHMIX DECISION / Core Plus + Yukti
The total hides the missing sizes.
Compare forward demand and cover for each size.
Worked retail example. Independent of the reported company records. Financial scenario amounts are USD.
Footwear option / two-week cover target
| Size | Two-week need | Top-up proposal |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 8 | 4 pairs |
| 7 | 16 | 8 pairs |
| 8 | 24 | Covered |
| 9 | 16 | Covered |
| 10 | 8 | Covered |
The extra pairs remain a proposal. Check suitable warehouse supply and the source constraints.
60 held pairs can conceal short cover in individual sizes.
THE KEY IDEA
The lesson is not a universal availability target. It is to connect reliable store evidence with a size-specific stock decision, then confirm the physical and system outcome.
Attribute the result to the published case study
Zebra’s 4 November 2026 press release, distributed by Business Wire, reports 98% on-shelf availability and 20% faster replenishment at JD Sports using mobile computing and RFID. These are the supplier’s published case-study results, not a Merchmix benchmark or a general promise for another retailer.
The story concerns operational inventory visibility and movement from stockroom to selling floor. It should not be presented as evidence that a planning system alone produces the same result.
Renovotec’s implementation case study places the rollout across 414 stores in the UK and Ireland. That scope matters: the published availability result should not be read as a measurement of every store worldwide. Its account also distinguishes accurate store stock records and physical replenishment from a planning recommendation.
A pair in the building is not the same as the requested size
A style can be well stocked in total while the size customers ask for is not ready to sell. Conversely, the pair may exist in the stockroom while the shop floor needs a timely replenishment task.
Keep shop-floor retrieval, store replenishment from the warehouse and upstream buying distinct. They depend on each other but require different records, permissions and execution tools.
A reliable count and a sensible target solve different parts of the problem. An accurate count can reveal that the requested size is missing, while the forward plan determines whether and how much to replenish. Keep both questions visible rather than assuming either a stock scan or a style-level target settles the size decision.
The size detail changes the stock question
A separate footwear store holds 60 pairs across sizes 6 to 10: 4, 8, 24, 16 and 8. Its forward weekly demand assumption is 4, 8, 12, 8 and 4 pairs respectively, a total of 36.
The total gives about 1.67 weeks of cover, but sizes 6 and 7 each have only one week. Sizes 8, 9 and 10 each have two. Those forward assumptions are not a size curve inferred from one week of observed sales, and these quantities are not JD Sports data.
THE FIGURES BEHIND THE DECISION
| Size | Held pairs | Weekly demand | Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 week |
| 7 | 8 | 8 | 1 week |
| 8 | 24 | 12 | 2 weeks |
| 9 | 16 | 8 | 2 weeks |
| 10 | 8 | 4 | 2 weeks |
Size 6 gap: 8 − 4 = 4; size 7 gap: 16 − 8 = 8
Replenish the two short-cover sizes
Core Plus supports allocation and replenishment by store and size. For a two-week review horizon, the example would need four more pairs of size 6 and eight more of size 7, assuming the stated demand and no other movements.
The 12-pair requirement is a review quantity, not an executed warehouse release. Check available matching sizes, incoming supply, distribution-centre constraints and the receiving store’s position before proposing it.
Attach the quantity and source consequence to the proposal
Yukti can support a proposed response with the relevant quantity and reasoning for review. The useful proposal concerns the two short-cover sizes and the effect on the source stock, rather than a generic request to replenish all 60 pairs.
Do not imply that Yukti performs Zebra’s RFID scanning or the physical shop-floor retrieval in the case study. The article connects accurate operational evidence with the distinct planning decision it should inform.
Do not let a style total overrule the size requirement
The example uses forward weekly demand by size, not recorded JD Sports sales. The two-week target is applied to each size separately. Adding all the style’s units together would conceal the short cover in sizes six and seven, even though the total looks substantial.
The twelve proposed pairs must be available in the required sizes. An extra twelve pairs in already-covered sizes would increase the style total without resolving the same customer problem. Core Plus supports the size-level allocation and replenishment decision, and Yukti can frame the exception for review. Physical execution still matters: a suitable pair in a back room is different from one available for a customer to buy.
| Signal | Merchmix workspace | Decision to review |
|---|---|---|
| The style total looks healthy | Core Plus / size detail | Compare each size with its own two-week requirement. |
| Two sizes have short cover | Core Plus / replenishment | Review four size-6 pairs and eight size-7 pairs, not a generic twelve-pair refill. |
| Suitable source stock is identified | Yukti / proposed action | Check source constraints and execution timing before treating the proposal as available stock. |
Measure the whole path from evidence to availability
After an authorised replenishment, confirm what was actually received and made usable. A system count is not a substitute for matching the customer’s size with the stock available through the relevant selling process.
Read subsequent size-level availability and sales together. A more reliable stock record can improve the evidence used in the next planning cycle, but the supplier case-study percentage remains specific to its own deployment.
BEFORE THE NEXT DECISION
- Replenishment team
Validate four size-6 pairs and eight size-7 pairs in suitable source stock.
- Planner
Check the forward weekly demand by size rather than relying on the sixty-pair style total.
- Store team
Confirm the required sizes reach usable selling stock after an authorised movement.
Common questions
Are the 98% and 20% figures Merchmix results?
No. They are attributed to Zebra’s published JD Sports case study.
Is the 36-pair demand figure historical sales?
No. It is the forward weekly demand assumption for a separate worked example.
Does the example require replenishing every size?
No. Under the stated two-week horizon, sizes 6 and 7 have the 12-pair gap.
Does Yukti replace RFID scanning?
No such capability is claimed. Physical stock capture and retail planning are different workflows.
Would twelve extra pairs in any sizes close the gap?
No. The two-week requirement is four pairs of size 6 and eight pairs of size 7. Additional pairs in already-covered sizes would increase total stock without resolving those two size gaps.
FROM THE ARTICLE TO YOUR OWN RETAIL PLAN
Review the decision.
See the workflow.
Bring your planning questions to a demo, or explore a proof of concept on your own data.