Customers found coats lined with raccoon and rabbit fur both in-store and online, although unlike some retailers that have been found to be selling real fur, they weren’t labelled as faux.Press reports said a Pyrenex coat in-store at HoF has a 100% raccoon fur trim, prompting a social media backlash. There are also a number of other pieces online from the label with real fur trims. Some customers said they would boycott the chain over the crucial Christmas shopping period as a result.

That may not be the biggest issue on Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley’s mind as he continues to battle a wider retail downturn and specific problems at the HoF chain. But nonetheless, a PR nightmare is the last thing HoF needs as it tries to trade its way back to health.The retailer had launched a no-fur policy under previous owner Sanpower following an exposé in 2017 that found items tagged as faux fur by the chain were actually the real thing. A number of other retailers had the same problem at the time.The company had said that such issues damaged its reputation and went against its values. Several anti-fur groups said they’ve contacted the retailer to try to clarify whether it has abandoned its no-fur policy or whether the items on sale had simply slipped through the net.