Warm front brings joy to Next as sales head north
Next sales jumped in the past three months as the high street fashion brand was buoyed by warm weather over the Easter period and online sales.
Total sales rose 4.5 per cent over the 13 weeks to 27 April, compared to the same period last year, as its high street sales were boosted by “unusually warm weather”.
Retail store sales nevertheless slipped, despite the improved weather conditions, falling 3.6 per cent as Next continued to be impacted by the tough conditions on the high street. Online sales underpinned growth, jumping 11.8 per cent over the period amid the continued change in shopper behaviour.
Releasing a trading update, the retail sector bellwether said: “We experienced strong sales growth during February because sales were adversely affected by extreme winter weather last year.
“March was broadly in line with our forecast for the full year and, as mentioned above, sales during April were better than expected.”