Next's full price sales were up 4pc for the three months to the end of July. Although retail sales declined 4.2pc, this was better than the 8pc to 10pc slide analysts were expecting. Online sales soared 11.9pc, offsetting the continued decline of in-store sales. As a result, Next now expects full-price sales to rise 3.6pc for the year, more than double the previous forecast. Profits will also be higher by £10m to £725m, but flat on last year's £723m. More than half of Next’s sales are now online as it adapts to changing consumer habits that have caught many of its competitors off-guard. In May, Next signed a tie-up with Amazon that allows shoppers to pick up their orders from the online giant at its 500 stores. Although the partnership is going well, "it's still very small numbers, certainly not enough to make a difference to our numbers", Lord Wolfson added. Next failed to increase its forecasts in May after warm Easter weather lifted sales. At the time the chief executive said that while the figures were ahead of expectations, they were “not by enough” to justify changing its full-year guidance. Next said it was nearing the end of its £300m share buyback programme, having repurchased stock worth £280m from investors.
Lord Wolfson, CEO of UK retailer Next, has backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's tough Brexit stance, and said the EU is more likely to agree terms if the UK demonstrates it would accept a no-deal outcome. Next, regarded as a high-street bellwether, has a Brexit steering committee to ensure it has the "administrative, legal and physical infrastructure" in place should the UK's exit from the EU be disorderly.