Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]
Retail gloom as festive season fails to save 2024 trading January 7, 2025 High street stores showed anaemic growth in the 2024 festive season, despite hopes that Christmas trading would inject some cheer into the sector. Sales grew just 0.3 per cent overall in the ‘golden quarter’, which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online sales continued to beat in-store, [...]
Post-Christmas shopping to rise as bargain-hunters ’emerge’ – analyst December 28, 2024 Post-Christmas shopping is expected to pick up on Friday after data showed there were fewer consumers hitting the high streets for Boxing Day bargains. By midday on Friday, footfall at shops across the country was eight per cent higher than the same day last year, according to retail analysts MRI Software. It follows refreshed figures [...]
UK retail sales rise slightly in November amid concern over golden quarter December 20, 2024 The latest ONS data showed retail sales jumped 0.2 per cent last month, following a 0.7 per cent fall in October.
The future of the high street lies within collaboration, not competition December 6, 2024 What was once a shopping experience to look forward to has become a memory for many: will the high street ever feel the same? For quite some time, the online and in-store worlds have been competing over the same simple access to products, for better or for worse. Since the pandemic, consumers have gravitated towards [...]
WH Smith: Profit jumps as expansion into travel shops pays off November 14, 2024 WH Smith’s push into travel has paid off with the bulk of its growth in the last year due to higher profit at airports, train stations and motorway services. WH Smith’s revenue rose seven per cent to £1.918bn in the year ended 31 August, 2024, driven by growth in travel shops plus the company’s expansion [...]
Womenswear firm Sosandar signs homewares agreement with Next November 5, 2024 Sosandar, the women’s fashion retailer, has signed a capex-free licensing agreement with Next for a homeware range. The licensing agreement, which requires no capital expenditure for Sosandar, will see the two companies extend their pre-existing agreement to sell clothing. Co-ceos Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said it was a “proud moment” for the Sosandar brand and [...]
Retailers prepare for ‘exceptionally tough’ golden quarter after Budget November 4, 2024 The golden quarter is off to a slow start and things are only set to get tougher for retailers over Christmas, according to fresh data. In-store sales grew by 1.7 per cent year on year in October, while total sales – both in-store and online – grew 4.1 per cent, according to BDO. Whilst the [...]
Retail footfall returns to downward trend after September spike November 1, 2024 After a brief rise in September, retail footfall has fallen again in October, as the number of feet on Britain’s streets returns to its downward trend. Total UK footfall decreased by 1.1 per cent year on year in October, down from a rise of 3.3 per cent in September. Many in the sector, which has [...]
Next predicts £1bn profit after cold weather boosts sales October 30, 2024 Next has upgraded its profit forecast for the year to over £1bn after better-than-expected sales in its third quarter. The FTSE 100 retail giant, which is headquartered in Leicester, has upgraded its guidance from £995m to £1.005bn. In an update to the London Stock Exchange, Next said full price sales in the three months to 30 October [...]