Superdry’s profit warning is just the latest in a series of bad updates from fashion retailers.

The retailer attributed today’s warning to the hot weather during the summer and slow start to autumn. It said profits would be around £10m lower than previously expected as sales of jackets and hoodies, which account for 45% of its annual sales, had been affected.

The share price plummeted 22% on Monday, from 1020p to 795p. 

The profit warning came as an unwelcome surprise for investors because Superdry has historically performed well but, looking at the wider market, it should have come as less of a shock perhaps. Fast fashion retailer Quiz warned on profits earlier this month, following in the steps of fellow market debutant Footasylum.

Footasylum’s two profit warnings have wiped 74% of its value from the slate in just 10 months. The fact that a raft of previously healthy fashion business are struggling speaks to how little has to go wrong for the wheels to come off.

As well as blaming its woes on the hot weather, Superdry trotted out the usual “challenging conditions” line, as if anyone could forget – even for an instant – what a mess much of UK retail finds itself in. But it is much more interesting to look beyond the obvious symptoms – 30 degree heat puts people off buying jumpers – and instead examine the underlying causes.

Exposed

Superdry is, like much of the industry, exposed to myriad headwinds while lacking the flexibility to dodge them.

It is, unlike the etailers, unable to rush out another wave of late summer newness to tempt the consumer until autumn properly sets in. Instead it is stuck between trying to flog end of season T-shirts in September or watching customers walk past new season outerwear because it’s still 20 degrees plus outside and people no longer buy ahead.

Superdry is attempting to mitigate this problem with an 18-month long product diversification and innovation programme.

It will address its reliance on product such as colder weather lines – although they are typically higher margin and so hit above their weight in profit terms – and instead accelerate its expansion into ‘lower participation categories’ including womenswear (not counting outerwear).

It will also carry on developing sportswear product, such as its ski wear and high performance wear. And it is exploring licensing partnerships, although chief executive Euan Sutherland would not be drawn into giving more detail.

Womenswear makes up 40% of Superdry’s sales at the moment and so, if the retailer can get product right, that represents a big opportunity. As a (very) general rule, men are more likely to go shopping on a needs basis than women, and Superdry should benefit from lessening its exposure to this mission-based shopper.

However, getting that product right will be absolutely key – and could present a real challenge to the retailer. Superdry’s sweet spot is slightly technical looking outerwear for men who – to put not too fine a point on it – care more about practicality than high fashion. It doesn’t have as much of a handle on what makes a best-selling dress.

The retailer’s recently launched womenswear limited edition collection is a step on from its mainline product however. Its pastel hues and nods to streetwear trends may well capture the younger shopper it has been targeting through adverts with the likes of Paigey Cakey (no, me neither).

Paigey Cakey (a grime artist, it turns out) aside, Superdry’s profit warning – and the underperformance of others in the sector – shows on just what a knife-edge fashion retailers operate.

Having always been exposed to the elements – weather, input costs, betting on the wrong product – they now have to contend perhaps more than ever with those ubiquitous “challenging conditions” too.

It could be a while before apparel retailers are back in fashion.

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