Spare a prayer this week for Julian Dunkerton, co-founder and chief exec of the 20-year-old clothing brand Superdry, which has just reported an ominous £148m loss for the year to 29 April.
Even by the standards of a flailing high street, this is bleak news. Then again, Dunkerton insists it’s all under control: he reassured a journalist last week that “Julian has been beavering away and sorting this out.” Maybe speaking about himself in the third person keeps his spirits up.
