It felt like a sign of things to come in January 2020 when the market value of upstart fast-fashion retailer Boohoo overtook that of the venerable Marks and Spencer, once the biggest clothing retailer in the UK.
But two years later, M&S is worth comfortably more than Boohoo and its online rival Asos combined. It has upgraded profit forecasts twice over the past year and Clive Black, analyst at house broker Shore Capital, believes it may do so again when it updates investors this week. Its share price rose by three-quarters in 2021.
Meanwhile, shares in Boohoo, which warned on profits twice in 2021, are down by almost two-thirds. Asos, which is also due to issue a trading update this week, has lost more than half of its market value and its chief executive.
The resurgence at M&S is not a one-off. B&M, a variety discounter that sells only through stores, is about to return another £250m to shareholders after strong trading.
Shares in Next, which has raised profit guidance five times since the start of 2021, set new all-time highs last year. JD Sports did likewise. Frasers, the…
