Ailing vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has gone into a trading halt on the ASX, leaving the 99-year-old major shareholder with a takeover bid on the table in the dark about whether more bad news might be coming.

Godfreys has a history of profit downgrades in the past year as its business performance soured markedly as big electronics and appliance rivals JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman clawed away market share. But it didn't indicate specifically whether another one might be on the way.