The fashion retailer reported group sales up by 10.3% and profit before tax up by 13.8% in the six months to July 2025 from 2024.
Total group sales came in at £3.2bn, while its profit before tax was £515m. The figures mean that it expects to solidify its place in UK retail’s £1bn profit club and then some, with the retailer issuing full year pre-tax profit guidance of £1.1bn (up 9.3% versus 2024).
Despite the impressive sales rise, Next issued a note of caution on the UK economy alongside the results. “At best we expect anaemic growth, with progress constrained by four factors: declining job opportunities, new regulation that erodes competitiveness, government spending commitments that are beyond its means, and a rising tax burden that undermines national productivity.”
It added that its warnings two years ago of a weakness in UK employment had come to pass. “Since then, vacancies have continued to fall, and PAYE payroll numbers are now moving backwards. The problem appears to be that employment, particularly at the entry level, faces the triple pressure of rising costs, increasing regulation, and displacement through mechanisation and AI.”
The company pointed to its own numbers as an illustration of the trend. It said that vacancies at Next had fallen by 35% over the past two years, while applications had increased by 72%. Separate ONS numbers published earlier this week showed that retail jobs in the country had slumped to a record low.
Next said that it expected sales growth in the UK to be slower in the second half of the year, in part because of these economic trends and an expectation that “this will increasingly dampen consumer spending”. Q2 sales had been stronger than expected because of better summer weather and Next also benefited from the trading disruption caused at Marks & Spencer because of the cyber attack.
Sales growth of full-price product in the UK came in at 7.6% in the first half of the year, with a 5.4% increase for in-store sales verus a 9.2% increase in Next’s online business.
International sales grew by 28.1% and now represent just over a fifth (22%) of the group’s total full-price sales.
Next is in the process of moving its European distribution to Zeos, German retailer Zalando’s distribution arm. This means that its own EU websites will now be served from the same stock as its Zalando business.
International third party aggregators like Zalando and About You now make up 7% of Next’s full-price sales, having grown by a third versus sales in the first half of 2024.
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