David Prosser: About to throw the baby out with the bath water?

Outlook So farewell Ben Gordon, the boss of Mothercare, whose departure has seemed inevitable since last week's disastrous profits warning wiped 30 per cent off the value of the company.

The really depressing thought for the colleagues Mr Gordon will leave behind comes from analysts at Seymour Pierce. They point out that the UK performance of Mothercare has been so dreadful of late that the company could spend £100m shutting its business here down entirely and still leave itself with aninternational business worth £280m to £300m compared to today's market cap of £185m.

That's not to say Mr Gordon's successor would take such a radical step – but it is no wonder chairman Alan Parker is said to be looking for a replacement with international experience.