THE continued success of a major sports retailer and trading recoveries of two other high street names will place the retail sector in the spotlight this week.

Sports Direct International is expected to reveal more details of its plans to resurrect a contentious bonus scheme for founder Mike Ashley on Thursday, as 2,000 staff also prepare to land bumper share windfalls.

The Sports World business is set to outline the terms of a new bonus plan for Newcastle United owner Mr Ashley after a previous scheme, which would have delivered a potential £26m payout, was withdrawn last summer after investors threatened to reject it in a shareholder vote.

Its full-year figures will also be keenly awaited by staff, many of whom are on track to clear another hurdle under their 2011 four-year share incentive bonus scheme.

This comes on top of a lucrative bonus scheme from 2009, which will pay out the second and final tranche of shares to about 2,000 of Sports Direct’s 23,000-strong workforce in August.

For an employee earning a salary of £20,000 a year in 2009, next month’s payout will see them pick up 12,000 shares – worth more than £68,000.

Sports Direct has already said the group has surpassed the second-year target to achieve £270m in underlying earnings for the 2011 scheme.

But it must meet earnings targets for the following two years before paying out 2,500 shares in 2015 and 7,500 shares two years later.

Analysts expect Sports Direct to post a 19 per cent leap in underlying earnings to £287.3m for the year to April 28, while they are pencilling in pre-tax profits of £215m.

Total sales for the nine weeks to March 31 rose 14.3 per cent and gross profit lifted 22.7 per cent, to £128.6m.

Retailer Mothercare will update on turnaround progress when it publishes first-quarter trading figures on Thursday. The mother and baby goods retailer has been jettisoning loss-making stores as part of a three-year restructuring plan.

Surging international earnings helped the group to improved underlying annual profits of £8.3m.

And chocolate retailer Thorntons will reveal further details of its trading revival today as its turnaround gathers pace. The group’s final quarter update comes after it confirmed earlier this month that annual profits will beat expectations thanks to a sales recovery and careful cost management.