Mike Ashley has said Sports Direct, which has just opened a store in the island’s Strand Shopping Centre, is on track to become the ’Selfridges of sport.’

The claim came ahead of an AGM today (Wednesday) that could see the firm’s chairman toppled as shareholder frustration at the retailer mounts.

In a trading update, the chain said the outlook ’remains optimistic’, with earnings growth expected to be 5 per cent to 15 per cent ahead of last year and the performance of its ’new generation flagship stores’ exceeding expectations.

Boss Mr Ashley said: ’We remain fully focused on our strategic goal of moving our core business towards the Selfridges of sport in order to further strengthen our proposition and drive long-term profitability.’

In the last few weeks Sports Direct has opened up in the Strand Shopping Centre in the island’s capital. The retail giant bought the centre last year.

The 19,000 sq foot shop had been eagerly awaited by island shoppers.

Sports Direct International is the UK’s largest sports goods retailer and operates about 670 stores worldwide.

Sports Direct owns a number of sporting brands inclusing USC, with which it shares the Douglas shop, and Flannels, a more upmarket clothes shop that operates where the old Manx Electricity Authority showroom was, a site once earmarked for Tesco until that plan collapsed.

Mr Ashley’s comments come as pressure mounts on chairman Keith Hellawell, with a number of investors in the retailer publicly voicing their opposition to his re-election ahead of a crunch vote at today’s (Wednesday) annual general meeting.

The former West Yorkshire Police chief constable and government drugs tsar has presided over a long list of scandals and controversies at the chain, and has pledged to step down if he does not receive the support of a majority of independent shareholders.

Hermes Investment Management, Royal London Asset Management and Standard Life Aberdeen are among the investors to say they intend to vote against the chairman’s re-election.

As part of the trading update, Mr Ashley confirmed that Sports Direct now owns 100 per cent of premium fashion chain Flannels.