British retailer Next experienced better than expected sales during the first quarter of the year as “unusually warm weather” over the Easter holiday drove customers to its stores and helped to offset the decline of its high street stores.
The company said full price sales rose 4.5 per cent over the 13 weeks to April 27, ahead of an internal forecast of 3.2 per cent.
The results were distorted slightly by a comparatively weak period last year, when sales were hit by freezing temperatures and snowfall during an unusually bitter spell.
Stronger online performance drove sales during the quarter and offset a 3.6 per cent fall in high street sales.
Next said the better than expected first-quarter results were not enough to change its overall annual guidance. It expects full-price sales growth of 1.7 per cent, with online increasing 11 per cent and high street contracting 8.5 per cent over the course of the year. Pre-tax profit is expected to fall 1.1 per cent to £715m.
