Wolfson could have had little idea how prescient his words would be as, over the weekend, details of a new lockdown were announced as the fight to contain Covid continues.

Next’s worst-case scenario already looks as if it could be optimistic. It envisaged the possibility of two weeks of store closures in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and factored in a 20% full-price sales decline over the fourth quarter. 

From this Thursday, so called ‘non-essential’ retail faces a shutdown in England lasting a month, although trading is still allowed in Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

It could not have come at a worse time as the retail industry navigates an already disrupted peak period and hopes to recoup some of the ground lost during the first lockdown in the spring.