A biography for Mike Ashleyhasn’t been written yet.
“What we would like to do is introduce a 'concierge click and collect' at House of Fraser. When you go online and say you want to collect goods in-store, you should be able to book a time, book a changing room and book a stylist.”
“I accept House of Fraser cannot have 500,000 square feet in Birmingham. Honestly, you would need an Uber to take you round. It's ridiculous.”
“The media circus surrounding Sports Direct... only proves that whatever progress Sports Direct makes, it will always be subject to disproportionate scrutiny and misrepresentation.”
“Sports Direct should come with a government health warning - this stock is not for the fainthearted.”
“I will go to the ends of the earth to save as many Debenhams stores and jobs as I can, similar to the promise I made with regards to House of Fraser.”
“I would not get to know every single thing that happens in Sports Direct.”
“It is true that I have conducted and do conduct business discussions in an informal environment form time to time. However I don't just turn up to a venue with someone and negotiate a binding agreement over few hours over drinks.”
“Despite significant challenges within the retail sector in the UK and beyond, which have resulted in many retailers failing, Sports Direct has continued to perform well and exceed market expectations.”
“I didn't know Alan Pardew before football at all.”
“If you're trying to portray that I take massive business decisions in pubs and bars, then that is total crap. It is not the norm, otherwise I'd have to live in a pub because I take business decisions all day, every day.”
“On a scale out of five, with one being very bad and five being very good, House of Fraser is a one.”
“The school I went to was only famous for one thing... Peter Osgood went to that particular school. That's probably my earliest memory of the importance of football.”
“I am wedded to Newcastle like Sports Direct. They've got me and I've got them. That's just the way it is.”
“Criticism is a funny thing, because I think if you want to be something, create something or make a difference in any walk of life you have to be hugely self-critical.”
“Do I regret getting into football? The answer is yes. I have had tonnes of fun in it but I haven't been able to make the difference I wanted to like I have at Sports Direct.”
“What person could keep 59 stores open - beside God? It's impossible, it can't be done.”
“It's one of the amazing things about owning a football club, the way you get caught up. It's like someone has put something in your coffee. You look around, you want to lift the place, hit the ground running.”
“You get to the top of one mountain and then you see another.”
“I take business decisions all day every day, from home, from the bath.”
“The over-riding reality is that I am just not wealthy enough to own Newcastle.”