CLOTHING SALES UNDER THE WEATHER AT HIGH ST GIANTS

MARKS & Spencer and Sports Direct are both expected to report a fall in earnings on Thursday after bad summer weather hit clothing sales.

Analysts expect Sports Direct to report a fall in pre-tax profits from £300m to £292m, following a public row over working practices at the firm.

And M&S is expected to unveil a 4pc like-for-like sales drop in the last four months, due in part to unseasonable rain.

It is likely to pose a fresh challenge for new boss Steve Rowe, who was brought in to turn the business around.

‘Steve Rowe could not really have asked for more testing conditions for his first full quarter in charge,’ said Peel Hunt analyst Jonathan Pritchard. ‘While some of the actions he has taken to improve the offer are sensible and long overdue, they won’t hold back the negative tide.’

Rowe will be judged on clothing sales in particular, which continue to suffer despite a series of collections launched by supermodels including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley ( pictured).

The M&S insider was appointed with a brief to turn around revenues in an area where they had been struggling against competitors.

But the wider fashion industry signs are not good – it slipped back last month for the first time in six years, according to Kantar Worldpanel research.