Jim Armitage: Wolfson needs new tricks in store to keep up with rivals

It takes a certain self-confidence to admit you’ve no idea what’s going on. Simon Wolfson’s reputation as a retail hero gives him the swagger to do just that.

How likely are Brits to hit the shops in November? Dunno. What’s Christmas going to be like? Search me.

August and early September were decent, he says, but the last five weeks have been awful as the mild spell stopped us buying woollies.

Weather has always been a big factor for fashion, but the extent of the volatility retailers suffer these days is new.

Instead of buying on our weekly trip to the High Street, we shop erratically online, where other temptations vie for our wallets —Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Apple.

Tracking what we’ll spend on fashion after all that becomes increasingly unpredictable. To compete, High Street chains have to offer something different; hence TopShop’s Netflix tie-up at Oxford Street, Debenhams’ new beauty services and the sudden appearances of in-store cafes, restaurants, live events.

Next seems to have fallen behind on such innovations, making its stores feel increasingly troubled.

Takings at Next’s shops are down nearly 9% like-for-like. And that’s just the start. The current quarter is up against relatively healthy (though still negative) figures a year ago which means, bar an Arctic spell, worse figures loom.

Retail may be erratic, but the trends are clear. The CBI says sales are falling at their fastest since the recession. Interest rates are going up. Seems to me Wolfson probably knows more than he’s letting on.

Who regulates the regulators? In a world where so few bankers and their advisers have been punished over the financial crisis, it is a question every watchdog in the City is being asked.

The Financial Reporting Council, gave us one clear answer today. Chief executive Stephen Haddrill is regulated by… his wife.

Kate Marshall is the senior civil servant at the Department for Business, with responsibility for its “relationship management” with the FRC, its register declares. How sweet.

But don’t worry. The FRC, packed full of ex-beancounters from the Big Four accountants it regulates, is used to dealing with conflicts of interest. It assures us none have arisen here.

The roles of these lovebirds would be funny were the FRC not so vital. Auditors play a key role in keeping capitalism straight.

Yet they are compromised by being concentrated into a tiny group of immense firms selling billions of pounds of other services to clients.

The FRC has come under huge fire for repeatedly clearing big accountants of wrongdoing. If it wants to avoid the brickbats, it has to be, and be seen to be, just as robust as the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

This happy families business doesn’t fit that bill.