Sales at Next‘s direct division were much better
than expected, delivering a rise of 7.8 percent in the 26 weeks
to 31st July. Total retail sales in the first half at the apparel
and homewares merchant rose just 1.7 percent. Next expects
consumer spending to slow down in the second half but believes
that its online offer will continue to draw customers, predicting
a growth of 4 to 8 percent in the next six months. For the full
year, Next aims to reach a maximum pretax profit of £560
million-a rise of 11 percent on last year.
Joules Clothing reported record financial
results for the year ending 30th April. Turnover was up 46
percent to £51.1 million, compared with £35 million in
2008/9. Net profit tripled to £3.6 million, from £1.2
million the previous year. The key driver for growth was the
launch of the Baby Joule range in February this
year and the introduction of the women’s premium
“boutique” range in 2009.
Joules also expanded internationally during the past year and now
sells in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.
According to an article in the Telegraph, Royal Mail will remove all county
names from its postal database by 2016. An official document from
regulator Postcomm published in May outlined the need to
discontinue provision of out-of-date county information and
recommended a “gradual phasing out over a number of
years” of county information from Royal Mail’s postal
address database.
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