Next has again upgraded its full-year profit guidance, after soaring sales outstripped predictions for the third quarter.
For the thirteen weeks to October 25, Nextâs full-price sales were up 10.5% year on year, ÂŁ75m ahead of its guidance for the period of 4.5%.
The fashion giant said sales overperformed in the period in the UK and overseas, up 5.6% domestically and 38.8% ahead of year-on-year comparisons abroad. Both were materially ahead of guidance â 1.9% in the UK, and 19.4% overseas.
Next noted that while sales growth for the period in the UK âweakened in comparison to the exceptional performance achieved in H1â, it still benefited from âfavourable weather and competitor disruptionâ and said it âunderestimated the positive effect of improved stock levels this yearâ.
Internationally, Next said growth through its websites was âbetter than expected because we were able to spend more on profitable digital marketing than anticipatedâ â with marketing expenditure up 50% on previous guidance.
Sales in Europe also benefited from âthe consolidation of our stockholding in the regionâ after it merged its warehousing with partner Zalando.
As a result of this strong trading in the quarter, Next said it was increasing its full-price sales guidance in the fourth quarter to 7%, adding a further ÂŁ36m to its forecast.
Increased Q3 sales combined with improved Q4 sales guidance mean Next has increased its full-year profit guidance by a further ÂŁ30m to over ÂŁ1.13bn.
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