What Next for high street fashion chain?

Jan 3 2008 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail FASHION chain Next will fall under the spotlight today as the first major name to update on what is likely to have been the toughest Christmas in years on the high street. Despite hopes of a last-minute shopping rush, concerns over a squeeze on hard-pressed consumers have caused Next’s shares to slump 25% in the past two months. In its last update, Next warned of “extremely volatile” trading as a good September gave way to a disappointing October – but held its profits expectations in line with market hopes despite increasing pressure on shoppers from higher mortgage bills. High street trading is unlikely to have been any easier since then. The latest Office for National Statistics figures on retail sales volumes showed a 0.4% increase between October and November, although this was driven by online shoppers. Sales volumes from predominantly non-food shops were more than 5% higher than a year ago, but worryingly for Next, the lowest ...  more