Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Next fashions a sales boost
WEB SUCCESS OFFSETS SHOP SLUMP
FASHION chain Next beat sales forecasts this summer after online activity soared by 23%.
Children’s clothes and homeware sales remained strong amid the Covid-19 pandemic, while formal and party clothes sales slumped.
The company raised its pre-tax profits forecast for the year to £365million – £65m up on earlier expectations.
In the three months to October 24 sales at the high street stalwart rose 1.4% – or 2.8% when interest from consumer credit was included. But online trade cushioned the blow to shop sales which were halved compared to last year.
Next warned that the threat of a twoweek lockdown in November would hit the traditionally busy run-up to Christmas and would cause a drop in fullprice sales of almost £60m. The firm said:
“Online sales remain strong, both in the UK and overseas. Out-of-town retail parks continue to perform better than high streets and shopping centres.” Next added it had found “no evidence of the virus being transmitted in its stores”. The high street continues to be battered during the pandemic as shoppers head online and local lockdowns affect footfall. US retailer Gap said this week it was considering closing all UK stores and moving operations to franchise-only in Europe. Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Next was already well set up for the dramatic shift to online shopping and its digital-first mantra has meant that group sales for the year are forecast to be higher than predicted. However, the retailer is warning that a two-week circuit breaker lockdown could undo much of the hard work.”