Sports Direct owner Frasers Group set for ‘upbeat’ update after reopening stores
An “upbeat” trading update is reportedly expected from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct, in the hope that the reopening of high street stores have pushed up sales
The retail giant was more cautious in its outlook in April despite the reopening of retailers across the UK.
It warned it could take a £200m hit from the impact of pandemic restrictions following the third national lockdown.
But shareholders are hopeful of a stronger recovery message from the group ahead of its full-year trading, which will be announced on Thursday.
Their optimism may have been sparked by the retailer’s share buybacks in May.
While the group has reported signification sales online through Sports Direct, its large retail portfolio will have taken a significant hit from the restrictions on high streets because of the pandemic.
Senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Susannah Streeter, told the Independent: “After a surge of sales in April, clothes shopping appears to have fallen out of fashion again in May and June, according to the ONS which also doesn’t bode too well for the performance of House of Fraser and Flannels, with sales in department stores particularly weak.”
“However,” she continued, “football fever should have kept demand more buoyant at Sports Direct, with young sports fans buying kit and equipment to try and follow in the footsteps of their soccer heroes.”