High street fashion retailer Next has reported "better than expected" sales in the first half of the year. Citing a "slight improvement" in the consumer environment, as well as good weather conditions, Next reported that its like-for-like sales had fallen only by 1.2 percent while total sales rose by 2 percent over the same period. Profits across its core brand businesses were up by 7.6 percent.

GREATER RISKS
Next stated that its improved range and early adoption of new trends had also contributed to the increase in sales. Chief Executive Simon Wolfson, pictured, said its strategy had "been about taking greater fashion risk and adopting new trends in depth before we have any evidence that they will be successful. As a result we believe we have improved our ability to deliver good quality, wearable interpretations of the latest trends at prices our customers can afford."

Despite the improving economic climate however, Next is cautiously optimistic about the future. It expects a continued decline in like-for-like sales over the Autumn/Winter season, as although the consumer mood has improved, it will not get the boost in sales it had enjoyed previously from the good weather. However, Next is still confident that the full year's profits will be close to the 429 million pounds achieved last year.