The coronavirus pandemic has piled woe upon woe for the retailer’s clothing and home division, which has been the poor relation to food for many years.

Third-quarter revenues covering the Christmas trading period fell by a quarter as a slump in store sales was only partially offset by strong growth online.

Yet prior to the pandemic chief executive Steve Rowe had identified some “green shoots” of recovery in clothing as the retailer executes its plan to be “more relevant more often” to customers with a focus on quality, style and value.