Sports Direct chiefs must act to address the retailer’s worsening reputation

Sports Direct is one of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories in contemporary retail, but its apparent disdain for the outside world is increasingly taking a toll.

The retailer’s share price took a hit last week when it emerged that chief executive Dave Forsey faces criminal proceedings over the collapse of fashion retailer USC.

The development was just the latest, and perhaps the most serious, in a series of controversies ranging from zero hours to warehouse conditions to the absence of a permanent finance director.

Signs of investor unrest have been growing. Hedge fund boss Crispin Odey has voiced concerns that too much power lies in the hands of one man – Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley.

So far there is little evidence that consumer appetite for Sports Direct’s value offer has been diminished, but you have to wonder whether that will come on the relentless stream of disconcerting news.

The retailer has done itself no justice through its Millwall-style, ‘no one likes us we don’t care’ stance towards critics, and the results are being felt in the share price – which of course affects the fortune of billionaire Ashley.

Sports Direct chiefs need to become more like Pele, a gentleman as well as a giant on the field.

The irony is it would probably take very little to start to improve perceptions and avoid any danger of shoppers switching teams.