Next 3.9% jump in sales over the festive period was welcomed by the City this morning.

“While sales performance is broadly in keeping with expectations, gross margin and markdown levels have been slightly better than expected – the driving force behind raised profit guidance and our 2% upgrade. Next remains our top pick of the FTSE 100 Retailers, a core sector holding underpinned by a flexible store base and the benefits of Directory.” John Stevenson, Peel Hunt

“Next’s performance underlines the trend of this festive season: namely that online has been the principal driver of growth and is paying dividends for those players that have invested in their online offer. 

“Next is a very accomplished player in both the internet and multichannel arena and recent service improvements - such as extending order cut-off times for next day delivery to 9pm - were heavily featured in festive advertising and have subsequently helped to drive online sales.”

“Next is a very well run business with a tight grip on costs, discounting and stock management. This is ultimately reflected in the performance of the business both in this and in previous trading updates.” Joseph Robinson, Conlumino

“Brand sales growth was +3.9%, a number which should reassure. All in all a good statement from a much-loved stock, and we expect the shares to be strong today.” Bethany Hocking, Investec

“Sales were broadly in line with expectations for the period, but better markdown activity will lead to slight upgrades to consensus earnings.

“Next Retail sales were below our forecasts, but were offset by stronger than expected Directory sales.

“For the time being, we are keeping our HOLD recommendation on the stock. We believe the company was one of the winners over Christmas helped by a strong range geared to the colder weather. Next is a highly cash generative, tightly run and looks to continue to execute on the basics of giving the consumer great product and capitalising on its leading multi-channel position. However, the sector has performed strongly over the last year and sector rotation is likely to lead to a period of consolidation.” Freddie George, Seymour Pierce