The long hot summer has helped Next Plc shift more stock than it anticipated.
The high street chain said it had over-performed through the past three months thanks to the unusually warm and dry weather. It was also helped by people spending more on formal clothes now that lockdown restrictions had lifted, thought to be driven by pent-up demand for social events such as weddings.
The business said high street and out of town store sales were up almost 5 per cent over the summer despite ONS statistics suggesting people were spending 6 per cent less on clothes than they were before the pandemic.
