Four decades since starting his retail empire with a single sports shop in Maidenhead, Mike Ashley has announced plans to step down from Sports Direct owner Frasers’ (FRAS) board.

While Ashley stepped down as CEO in May this year to become executive director, to all intents and purposes he was still seen as the man leading the way. Shares in Frasers slipped 1.6% on the latest news as the market largely took the development in its stride.

This could reflect the fact that Ashley will remain a key advisor,
the major shareholder and current CEO Michael Murray is Ashley’s
son-in-law.

Murray’s previous role as ‘head of elevation’ suggests he may take the group more upmarket, but this is a comparatively untested strategy compared with Ashley’s previous focus on value.

It also might prove a challenge given an extremely weak backdrop for the retail sector amid tumbling consumer confidence and big pressure on household budgets.

Fraser’s record results for the 12 months to 24 April 2022 announced in July could be a hard act to follow, with guidance for pre-tax profit in the current financial year of £450 million to £500 million looking demanding.

Murray is also likely to pursue a less combative approach with the investment community than Ashley.

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