Ashley has the right critique of Boohoo. But appointing him to the board defies common sense

Make-your-mind-up-time approaches for Boohoo's shareholders in the great showdown with Mike Ashley. The Sports Direct maestro wants a seat on the Boohoo board for him and a mate, to go with the 27% shareholding his Frasers Group holds in the struggling online retailer.

- Nils Pratley

Make-your-mind-up-time approaches for Boohoo's shareholders in the great showdown with Mike Ashley. The Sports Direct maestro wants a seat on the Boohoo board for him and a mate, to go with the 27% shareholding his Frasers Group holds in the struggling online retailer. The vote is on 20 December and, naturally, is being preceded by an entertaining round of back-and-forth insults.

This is a scrap one wishes it was possible for both sides to lose. Boohoo, with a share price down 90% in five years, certainly deserves a shake-up that a boardroom bruiser in the Ashley style might deliver. The environment for online clothing pioneers has been turned upside down by the arrival of Shein and others, but Boohoo has added mistakes all of its own. In short, the company seems to have bought a heap of brands and labels, including Debenhams, Oasis, Warehouse, Karen Millen and Burton, without having a decent plan to manage the sprawl.