Fashion tycoon SirPhilip Green was typically straightforward yesterday when he issued results for hisArcadiafashion group.

“A very creditable performance when set against the background of one of the worst non-summers in many years,” was his verdict.

Although he is not taking a dividend, Green did manage to nudge up operating profits and add like-for-likes over the year to September 1. Given that for so much of that periodBritainendured some of the worst rainfall since Noah built the ark,Arcadia’s performance – boosted by sensations such as theKateMoss collection for Topshop – shows that good product and tight management can win out even when external circumstances conspire against shopkeepers.

Like other retailers, Green was cautious about what Christmas and next year hold in store for the sector. What was interesting was that he ruled out a shift towards increased price competition against Primark and other value retailers, choosing instead to rely upon product quality and fashionability to keep drawing shoppers through his doors.

It can be a cliché to talk about passion for product, but in Green’s case the description fits. It’s surprising how often retail directors fail to communicate real conviction about what they sell. But without great product, and belief in the product, retail doesn’t amount to much. Price will remain a key battleground but not the only one. Tat won’t often sell just because it’s cheap, at Christmas or any other time.

When Retail-week.com broke the news yesterday that Sports Direct’s independent non-executive director Chris Bulmer was resigning, the retailer reacted swiftly by announcing two new board appointments.

Retail property baron Malcolm Dalgleish and former Reebok boss Dave Singleton both became independent non-execs with immediate effect.

The pair are highly respected but, in the continued absence of a full-time chairman, it’s legitimate to wonder to what extent they can act as a counterbalance to maverick founder and deputy chairman Mike Ashley.

Fears remain that Ashley will continue to utterly dominate the business and it’s thought he would like to make acting chairman Simon Bentley chief executive.

Ashley remains Sports Direct’s biggest shareholder and his views deserve to be given some weight for that reason alone. The fact that he built the business from scratch into the powerhouse it is today is evidence of fantastic retail flair.

Bentley is a well-respected retailer and could prove an effective chief executive. But such an important appointment should not be made before a heavyweight chairman has had the chance to fully assess the situation and consider alternatives.

When Ashley chose to list Sports Direct on the public market he became responsible for other people’s investments as well as his own and his cavalier behaviour since the February IPO has not served his new sahoreholders well.

Nobody would try and dissuade Ashley from continuing to work his retail magic, but the pressure needs to be kept up for him to recognise the interests of his co-owners.

That’s why the ongoing concerns about Sports Direct’s corporate governance standards matter. Chris Bulmer believed the best way to throw the issue into relief was to stand down. The baton now passes to Dalgleish and Singleton. Let’s hope they they show their independence.