Next has published its results for the year ended January 2025. Full price sales were up +5.8%, and total group sales (including subsidiaries) up +8.2%. The Next Group has reported a PBT of £1011m (up +10.1%).
In retail (stores), full-price sales were down -1.1% YoY, and profit down -3.2%. In the year ahead, Next plans to open 10 new stores, and re-site six stores to new locations. In addition, two Home stores will be converted to fashion stores.
UK online full-price sales were up +5.4% YoY, with profit (including lease interest) at £444m, up +8.0%.
The average number of active customers in the year was 8.6 million, up +10% YoY.
Subsequently, full-price sales in the first eight weeks of the year have been ahead of expectations, and Next is upgrading its full-price sales guidance for the first half of 2026 to be up +6.5% (from +3.5%), resulting in sales for the full year being up +5.0% (from 3.5%). Group pre-tax profit guidance has been increased by £20m to £1066m, up +5.4%.
"It is unusual for Next to begin a year on an optimistic note," states the retailer, "yet that was our stance this time last year. It felt as though the company was entering a new era – the worst of the retail-to-online structural shift appeared to be behind us, the pandemic was well and truly over, and the cost of living crisis was abating.
"That cautious optimism appears, now, to have been well founded – and the company went on to deliver growth in pre-tax EPS of more than +10%. We are as positive about the company today as we were then, albeit in an environment where the risks to the wider UK economy are growing."
The retailer adds that it is looking to enhance its sourcing capabilities from new and developing territories that are "closer to home".
Commenting, Julie Palmer, partner at corporate recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, says: “Already viewed as best in class, Next has managed to defy the gloomy mood music hanging over the retail sector to deliver a record profit performance and raise its guidance once again.
“While Next's size means it should emerge relatively unscathed from tax rises, questions will remain over the future of its bricks-and-mortar stores, particularly in the wake of recent high-profile closures. As its UK Retail division was the only segment to report negative results, the market will be keeping a close eye on whether a brand that has been such a beacon of positivity for UK retail will revitalise or consider shrinking its physical presence.
“Smaller retailers across the UK are facing extreme challenges at the current time with some barely surviving as the gap between them and dominant retail giants widens. Can this headline figure spark some confidence in the sector?"
