Falling sales at Next disappoint

Fashion retailer Next updated the market on trading but did not detail Christmas and New Year performance specifically.

The store group said Next Retail sales were 1.7 per cent up on a like-for-like basis for the 23 weeks to January 4. However, for August 12 to December 24, which excludes summer and winter Sales, comparable sales at Next Retail were down 0.8 per cent.

Chief executive Simon Wolfson said he was disappointed with the fall.

However, the retailer expects to make pre-tax profits of between£293 million and£303 million for the year to March 27. Current market estimates averaged approximately£293 million at the time of the statement.