Who were the winners and losers on the high street this Christmas?
Share:
JD Sports has become the latest retailer to unveil how it fared in the key Christmas period as the slew of festive updates lays bare the winners and losers over the “golden quarter”. A raft of major high street firms, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Next, have already unveiled their latest sales figures.
The figures so far have shed light on how consumer spending has held up this Christmas, with signs of resilience, particularly across the grocery sector, but continued reticence over buying big ticket items. Firms including Next have also warned that prices are set to rise this year as they prepare to be hit by soaring costs linked to the autumn Budget in April.
Here the PA news agency looks at who the festive success stories are so far, and which retailers have appeared more downbeat. Potential winners. – NextHigh street fashion firm Next was among the first retailers to provide a Christmas update and impressed the markets after lifting its profit guidance due to higher sales.
The business, which runs hundreds of UK stores, saw shares rise by 3.7% after it revealed last week that a better-than-expected 5.7% rise in underlying full-price sales for its fourth quarter so far. As a result, it said profits are expected to rise by around 10% for the year, ahead of previous targets.
