Argos faces the spectre of Black Friday

Outlook

Savvy shoppers will rush for pre-Christmas deals this 'Black Friday' – but it may be the last (Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

A black day for Argos, which forced owner Home Retail Group to put a profit warning in its half year results. Bad enough that chief executive John Walden had to admit to a difficult first half, although Homebase held up reasonably well.

But then came the whammy, as Mr Walden fretted about the crucial Christmas season seeming “less predictable than usual as both retailers and customers determine whether to repeat last year’s unusual Black Friday patterns”.

In other words, he doesn’t know if rivals will tempt shoppers to do mad things with mad prices that resulted in scenes reminiscent of a rugby scrum on some of Britain’s high streets. He’s worried about the impact on his finances if they do. We should be similarly concerned, but for our national self respect.