Next has announced that like for like sales in the period July 31st to December 24th were down by 6.9 per cent.
Despite this, the clothes retailer increased its annual profit by between 5.1 per cent and 7.2 per cent reporting an annual profit before tax within the range of £463 million to £473 million.
The firm says faltering sales were saved by the opening of larger stores and the use of online technology. Directory sales performed well for the British brand, with an increase of 9.3 per cent in the period, while selling space went up by about 12 per cent.
Retail stores showed an increase in sales of 0.8 per cent for a combined sales rise of 2.8 per cent between online and retail sales.
"In a challenging year we will have increased group profits through good control of stocks, margins and costs, along with a strong performance in Next Directory," the retailer said.
Next will be releasing its full year figures in March.
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