Fashion chain Next to unwrap Xmas sales
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Fashion chain Next wants to shed light on how Britain’s stressed consumers shop during the Christmas season
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Spending pressure: Next has forecast a year-over-year revenue decline of 2 percent
Fashion chain Next will shed light this week on how stressed British consumers shopped during the Christmas period.
Thursday’s trading update should provide clues as to how the broader sector performed. Lord Wolfson, CEO of Next, has predicted that shoppers are likely to spend more.
The company has projected a 2 percent year-on-year decline in sales for the year to January.
Greggs, the bakery chain, will release its update on Friday, followed next week by Marks & Spencer and a slew of other retailers.
Analysts at AJ Bell said Next was normally slower than others to mark down its goods after the Christmas rush, but this year sales went live on Christmas Eve.
That suggested the company is “not immune to the strain on consumers’ pockets from the cost-of-living crisis.”