Next expects post-lockdown sales surge to be short-lived

·1 min read

Fashion chains Next and Superdry have both seen a surge in sales after stores reopened in April after Covid closures.

Next has raised its full-year profit forecast, but added that previous experience suggested the post-lockdown sales surge would be "short-lived".

Both retailers saw sales supported by online orders as stores remained closed during the latest lockdown.

Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton said the chain could "clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel".

Retailers and banks are reporting signs of recovering consumer demand as coronavirus restrictions lift, and there is cautious optimism about the prospects for the UK economy.

Next said that "strong sales growth we have experienced in the last three weeks is due to pent-up demand built up over the last three months", but that it did not expect growth to continue at that pace.

However, Next increased its guidance for full year profits by £20m to £720m after trading during the 13 weeks to 1 May was stronger than expected.

Full price sales were down 1.5% compared with the same period in 2019, compared with Next's forecast of a 10% drop.

Next sign Oxford Street
Next sign Oxford Street

Next retail sales dropped by 76% after its stores were closed for the first 10 weeks of the quarter, but online sales jumped by 65%.

However, Next said that it was not simply the case that sales lost in stores were transferred online.

Instead, the online sales boost came from the a mixture of homeware sales, third-party brands and overseas sales.

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