Sales at high street giant Next were hit by unseasonably warm weather in September, but bounced back as people bought cold weather clothing during the miserable, wet October.
New figures show the clothes and homewares chain saw a 2 per cent rise in full price sales in the last three months.
It mean overall sales for the first three quarters of its trading year were up 3.5 per cent – in line with expectations.
However, in line with trends, sales at physical stores fell 6.3 per cent over the last three months, while online sales rose almost 10 per cent.
The business warned sales for the rest of the year were not expected to be as high as the 5 per cent year-on-year growth recorded this month.
One investment specialist said being “slow and steady” and selling sensible clothing was not proving to be a bad thing for Next in a “volatile” retail environment.
Shares in the business, which have been rising steadily since the start of the year, were down mopre than 2 per cent this morning at £66.90.
The business said pre-tax profits for the year are expected to be around £725 million, fractionally up on last year.
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Steve Miley, a senior market analyst at asktraders.com, which links investors with brokers, said: “Whilst these are a solid set of results given the tough trading environment, investors were obviously holding out for more from the retailer.
“The share price dropped over 2 per cent in early trade.
“Store sales falling 6.3 per cent is a cause for concern, this is a significant decline and one that investors are finding hard to digest.
“That said, the online figures prove that Next is evolving well, with a sophisticated online offering which will support the firm amid challenging trading conditions on the high street.
“Despite investors’ disappointment, Next is adapting to industry change and could still retain its crown as a retailer darling.”
In a trading update for the quarter, the business, which has its 海角视频 headquarters in Enderby, Leicestershire, said: “We believe that strong sales in July pulled forward sales from August.
“Sales in September were adversely affected by unusually warm weather and we saw a significant improvement in October when temperatures fell.
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“We believe the improved sales growth in October recouped some of the lost sales in September and we do not expect sales growth for the rest of the year to be as strong as October.”
Russ Mould, investment director at online broker AJ Bell, said: “Next has a habit of making small steps forward even when confronted with unfavourable market conditions.
“The business is not fast growth like BooHoo, nor is it at the cutting edge of fashion like many other popular retailers.
“But being slow and steady and providing functional clothing isn’t a bad thing in the volatile world of retail.
“There is a continuation of earlier trends whereby high street weakness is more than offset by online gains and income from providing credit to customers.
“However, third quarter performance was weaker versus the first-half with online sales and finance interest income growing at a slower rate and high street sales declining by a higher rate.
“Perhaps one of the key points in the latest trading update is Next’s ability to keep growing full price sales which is commendable in a retail environment awash with discounting.
“The cold weather in October has been an important sales catalyst for Next and other retailers as it will have spurred people to buy new coats.
“Weather forecasts for the chilly spell to continue into November bode well for further sales of warm clothing but Next isn’t confident that October’s sales growth rates will continue at the same level for the rest of the year.
“It is typically conservative in its forecasting and doesn’t like to raise expectations without strong certainty.”
“It will be interesting to see how the Brexit delay and forthcoming general election affects consumer confidence.
“Next arguably needs people to feel good about their finances in order to spend money and any concerns about the economy, job safety and personal finances would naturally have a negative impact on retail spending.”