British apparel retailer Next raises FY22 sales & profit outlook

21 Jul '21

2 min read

Pic: Next

Next plc, a British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, has increased its guidance for full year sales from 3 per cent to 6 per cent, backed by its eleven weeks sales to July 17 beating the expectations by growing 18.6 per cent compared to the same period two years ago. The company estimates FY22 profit before tax of £750 million.

Next also listed out few factors that have contributed to the unexpectedly strong sales performance: pent-up demand for adult clothing, with many customers having made few summer purchases during the last 18 months; the onset of extremely warm weather at the end of May and start of June. Growth significantly slowed once the very warm weather passed; fewer holidays overseas are likely to have increased domestic spending in the UK; and consumer savings have materially increased over the last year.

In the last eleven weeks, UK sales performance across all Next divisions has improved with the opening of its stores, the UK retailer said in a statement. The performance of Label improved 64 per cent and overseas online business surged 61 per cent.

For the full year, Next’s surplus cash is forecasted to be £240 million. The company also decided to repay £29 million of business rates relief to the government. This sum accounts for the period of time this year that our shops were not charged business rates but were open, the company said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)

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