A “semblance of normality” is returning to retail-land, said Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, seeming to encourage the same judgment about the company itself. Ashley’s own eruptions were largely confined to demands for lower rents and business rates, standard retailing rhetoric these days. Ashley has proclaimed his “elevation” strategy to be a success but it remains as hard as ever to spot the evidence. The company talks about the department stores as “a work in progress”; others might call the HoF deal a mistake. Either way, shareholders were right to give the controversial share scheme 90% support on Thursday.

Source: The Guardian August 20, 2020 19:41 UTC