High street at risk of being ‘smashed’ by weak spending, Mike Ashley warns. boss blames Christmas downturn on Brexit fears after ‘unbelievably bad’ November. The Sports Direct boss, Mike Ashley, has warned that Debenhams and other big retail names faced being “smashed to pieces” by a savage high street downturn this Christmas as Brexit worries put the brakes on spending. “November was the worst on record, unbelievably bad,” said Ashley. “No one could have budgeted for that. Retailers just cannot take that kind of November. It will literally smash them to pieces.” His alarming predictions, which sent Sports Direct’s share price down nearly 15%, came as the no-frills fashion chain Bonmarché became the second retailer in as many days to issue a profits warning.
Bonmarché warns high street trading worse than 2008 recession. Sales drop 40% as value womenswear chain blames ‘unprecedented trading conditions’. Shares in Bonmarche Holdings (BON) have plummeted by 40% as the value womenswear chain issued a stark profits warning, blaming “unprecedented” trading conditions on the UK high street. In a warning that will heighten fears about retailers’ prospects in the crucial Christmas shopping period, its chief executive, Helen Connolly, said that trading was “significantly worse even than during the recession of 2008-09”. The Wakefield-based firm said Black Friday sales had been “extremely poor” and the impact of Brexit uncertainty on consumer demand had wiped out hopes of a profit in the full year to the end of March 2019. Shares plunged 40% to 48p after Bonmarché – aimed at women over 50 – said it now expected at best to break even and at worst to make a £4m loss in the current financial year. The retailer had predicted underlying pre-tax profits of £5.5m.
