Retailers will be put under the microscope this week as clothing and DIY groups prepare to reveal trading amid the troublesome summer weather.

Persistent summer downpours are expected to have washed out any potential recovery at Next, compounding problems with what analysts described as "poor" spring and summer clothing ranges.

Forecasts expect the group to announce a slight rise in half- year pre-tax profits, from £178.9m last year to £182.2m when it reports tomorrow.

French Connection will also reveal the impact of poor summer trading as it publishes its half-year results tomorrow.

The high street label has suffered from falling sales in recent years, sending pre-tax profits plummeting 67 per cent to £4m for the year ended January 31.

John Stevenson, at Shore Capital Stockbrokers, is forecasting the group to reveal an interim pre-tax loss of £4.1m, compared with a £3.6m loss in the same period last year.

Argos and Homebase parent Home Retail Group will be another retailer to detail the effects of the summer's weather on trading when it updates the market on Wednesday.

The group's DIY and garden chain, Homebase, saw sales rise in March and April as the unusually warm Easter weather gave a boost to business, but trading took a downturn in May as the rain set in.

Since the first quarter results, Homebase is likely to have suffered further from the June and July torrential downpours, despite the better weather last month.

Catalogue chain Argos benefited from continued strong demand for flat panel televisions earlier this year, which had helped to lift overall trading at the group.

However, analysts are unsure of how strong the market for "big ticket" items will have remained for the rest of the year, particularly for flat screens, given the comparatives from last year's football World Cup season.

Despite the encouraging start to the year, Home Retail, which demerged from parent company GUS last year, stressed it was cautious over the consumer outlook for the remainder of the year. And not without good reason.

Sports World tycoon and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley could face a rough ride from shareholders today at the company's first annual meeting as a publicly-listed business.

Mr Ashley netted £929m from floating a 43 per cent stake in the business in February, but the stock has since nose-dived to less than half the 300p opening price.

Sports Direct International, which also owns Lillywhites and brands such as Dunlop, has been accused of poor communications and vague trading updates.

It also disappointed the City in July after warning of limited profits growth next year amid tougher trading conditions.

Now pension fund adviser PIRC has called on shareholders to vote against the company's remuneration plan at the Mansfield meeting, claiming that targets set to trigger incentive plans are "not sufficiently challenging".

It has also criticised Sport Direct's lack of disclosure on environmental and ethical issues, as well as a lack of independent representation on the board.

Mr Ashley's majority holding - which recently increased to 60 per cent as the entrepreneur took advantage of the share price weakness - prevents any risk of an upset. But any vocal protests from shareholders at the meeting are likely to further embarrass a company that has endured a turbulent market debut.

And results from Umbro this week reporting falling sales of England kits will again throw the spotlight on the group's performance.

Companies reporting results this week include:

Today

Finals: Glisten, Minerva

AGM: Sports Direct International, Ten Alps

Tomorrow

Finals: Redrow, Interior Services Group

Wednesday

Trading update: Home Retail Group

Thursday

Finals: Kier

Interims: Cattles, CeNeS Pharmaceuticals, Dignity, Prezzo, SIG

Friday

Finals: Coffeeheaven International, NetStore