Like-for-likes at Next Retail slumped 6.9 per cent for the five-month period to December 24. Overall retail sales were up 0.8 per cent.
Wolfson blamed fuel price rises, interest rate rises and the warmer weather. He said: 'Christmas was not great for Next. Like-for-likes were up 2 per cent to 3 per cent in the seven weeks before the Christmas period, but the seven weeks into Christmas was not good.
'We need to get excitement back into our shops. That means the ranges first and foremost. We will be backing new trends more aggressively. That's not about reducing lead times or the supply base - we need to have more confidence in fashion and be less reliant on sales history.
'Rather than having 10 per cent of our range in long line tops, which is an important trend this year, we need to make it 30 per cent or 40 per cent. It's about backing fashion shapes, fabrics and colours with more conviction.'
Media and marketing spend will shoot up to£10 million this year against£1.5 million last year. The chain will also launch a fresh store fit at Meadowhall in Sheffield in July.
When asked when Next Retail would return to positive like-for-like growth, Wolfson said he didn't know. He added: 'We need to reduce the like-for-like decline in the first half and stabilise it in the second half. That is the realistic objective for the year ahead.'
By contrast, sales at Next Directory were up 9.3 per cent for the period, which meant combined sales were up 2.8 per cent for the period. Strong online orders and good control of stock, margin and costs have helped push pre-tax profit ahead of the market consensus within the range of£463 million and£473 million. Operating profits are expected to increase by between 5.1 per cent and 7.2 per cent for the year.
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