Next has maintained its profit guidance for the year after its sales jumped 21.3% in its first quarter.
The retailer said this was in line with expectations and is still on track for pre-tax profit to hit £850 million for the year, which is up 3.3% on last year.
Next had edged down its profit forecasts by £10 million for the year at the time of its full-year results in March due to the “unusually high level of geopolitical and economic uncertainty”.
The retailer’s impressive sales jump comes against a period when its shops were closed during lockdown for much of the first quarter.
Sales from Next’s retail stores were up 285% on last year but against it’s 2019/20 year – the most recent year not impacted by Covid – retail sales were down 8%.
Ecommerce sales were down 11% year on year, as store closures drove people online last year. Against three years ago, online was up 47%.
Label, Next’s third-party branded online business, was the star performer online, up 20% year-on-year, or 106% against pre-Covid levels.
By comparison, Next’s own brand online business was down 24% year on year in the UK, but up 23% on pre-Covid levels.
Next expects total full-price sales to be up between 2% and 8% in its current year, and profits to fall between £795 million and £895 million.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2022/05/next-first-quarter-sales-jump-as-it-maintains-profit-guidance/