Next posts profit increase
Next, Britain’s second-largest clothing retailer after Marks & Spencer, posted a 7.1 per cent rise in first-half profit on Thursday after selling more products than expected at full price.
The group, which trades from more than 500 shops in Britain and Ireland, some 200 mainly franchised stores overseas and the Directory catalogue and internet business, made a pre-tax profit of £347.1m in the six months to July.
That was up from £324.2m in the same period last year.
The group also reiterated its full-year outlook.