Sports and leisurewear retailer John David Sports, which has opened a second store in Bradford, said it was confident its shoppers would not be wooed by low prices from US retail giant Wal-Mart.

Since Wal-Mart's takeover of Asda, many British shopkeepers have feared the prospect of heavy discounting in goods from groceries to sports shoes.

But Peter Cowgill, JD Sports finance director, said his company's focus on the high quality, branded end of the market would safeguard it from Wal-Mart's budget approach.

"Wal-Mart is not high on our priority list of threats," he said. "The high volume, lower end of the market may be affected but we're upbeat in our position of strength with the top brands."

The firm already has a store on the Forster Square Retail Park and has opened another in Kirkgate. Its approach has been rewarded by like-for-like sales growth of five per cent or more since June.

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