Next sales better than expected

The board of Next is advising that its recent sales figures, which were better than expected, be treated with caution.

Like-for-like retail sales for the 14 weeks to 2 May were down by 2.3 per cent, despite the group predicting a drop of between 6 per cent and 9 per cent for its first half. Next Directory sales increased by 1.6 per cent over the period.

The company says that a late Easter, good weather and the trend of consumers staying in the UK over Easter because of poor exchange rates, have combined to buoy up the figures. "We expect the second quarter will be weaker than the first as comparative figures are more challenging. Last year the second quarter was much better than the first," says the company in a statement.

The group now predicts that first half Next Directory sales will be broadly flat, while like-for-like retail sales are predicted to fall by between 4 per cent and 7 per cent compared to last year.