Clothing group Next says it wants to "recapture the magic" of its recent successes after revealing sales at its retail outlet fell in 2006.
Like-for-like sales on the high street were down 7.2 per cent on the previous 12 months, the firm revealed in its full-year results.
However, profit before tax still increased by 6.5 per cent to £487 million, while overall turnover hit £3.3 billion after a yearly rise of 5.7 per cent.
Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said that the last year had been "solid" for the group, but retail sales remained "disappointing".
"At the beginning of last year we said that like-for-like sales would be negative as a result of improving competition and a worsening consumer environment," he said.
"What we have to do is simple, but not easy – recapture some of the magic and excitement that has gone hand in hand with the success of Next over many years."
The group's chairman John Barton meanwhile emphasised that Next had successfully returned £2 billion to shareholders since the turn of the decade.
On the year ahead he commented: "Of these the most important is our constant desire to improve the product we offer our customers.
"The achievement of this objective and the intention to continue our buyback programme, where appropriate, offers us the best opportunity to deliver superior returns to our shareholders."
Digg 
Delicious 
Reddit 
StumbleUpon 
Google 
Technorati 
Netvouz