NEXT is a UK based retailer offering exciting, beautifully designed, excellent quality

fashion and accessories for men, women and children together with a full range of

homewares# NEXT distributes through three main channels:


■NEXT Retail, a chain of more than 500 stores in the UK and Eire;
■NEXT Directory, a home shopping catalogue and website with around 3 million active customers and international websites serving approximately 50 countries; and
■NEXT International, with almost 200 mainly franchised stores around the world#
Other businesses in the NEXT group include:■NEXT Sourcing, which designs, sources and buys NEXT branded products;
■Lipsy, which designs and sells its own branded younger women's fashion products through retail, internet and wholesale channels; and
The parent company, NEXT plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange #LSE: NXT#L# and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index# Total revenues for the year ended January 2012 were £3#5 billion with underlying pre-tax profits of £570 million# NEXT's head office is located in Enderby on the outskirts of Leicester, England

http://www.next.co.uk/

One for you cynic if you still have these,


Should I Buy NEXT Plc?
Fool.co.uk

I'm out shopping for shares again, and here's the question I'm asking right now should I buy Next

Last time I checked out retail clothing chain NEXT, in January, I liked the cut of its cloth. With an expanding network of more than 500 shops in the UK and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) , and its flourishing online Directory business, it looked cool and confident. There was only one problem. Its share price had just leapt 50% in a year to £39. I prefer to buy great companies when they are out of favour, rather than at the height of fashion. I decided it was too pricey. Was I right? And should I buy NEXT today?

When it comes to investing, cheap isn't always cheerful. NEXT is up another 50% over the past year, against just 12% for the FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) . Over two years, it is up 100%. Over five years, it has delivered a stylish 359% growth (more than 12 times the FTSE). It has done all this in the middle of downturn, when wages have been rising at a slower pace than inflation, and austerity chic has been the order of the day. It's a stunning performance.

The price of fashion

Yet its first-half 2013 results weren't exactly cutting-edge, with sales rising a steady 2.2% to £1.67bn. A 7.2% rise in operating profit to £285m and 13.8% rise in profit after tax to £217m were more impressive, although already reflected in the share price. The stock barely shifted on the day, which struck me as a bit harsh.

NEXT has plenty to offer investors. It has recently spent £170m on share buybacks. Earnings per share (EPS) rose 19.9% to 142p. And still the market wasn't impressed? Like me, maybe it has been fixating too much on the price. Yes, these are tough times for retailers, but surely NEXT has weathered the storm in style. That puts it in a strong position if the economy is really recovering (I did say if...).

Out of my price range

Back in January, I was unhappy about its 2.3% yield. Today it is even lower at 2% against an index average of 3.5%. But management is progressive, recently announcing an interim dividend of 36p, a hike of 16.1%. NEXT is even more expensive today, however, trading at 17.1 times earnings. I'm also worried about EPS growth forecasts. After five years of double-digit growth of between 15% and 20%, EPS is forecast to slip to 8% in the year to January 2015. I should have bought it back in January at £39. I find its £51.40 price tag a little offputting today.

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> Harvey doesn't own shares in Next.

yes i do currently hold ..... the article must have been written a long time ago as sp is now £51 and he mentions £39 as being arguably too high ...... compared to ASC - my pet hate as i don't like their quality - NXT is probably still cheap .... more importantly, i believe that NXT's UK on-line biz is now the largest for the sector, and at least as importantly, it has at last moved away from the dull, travelling salesman image as is now much more akin to the likes of Zara

Should I Buy NEXT Plc? Fool.co.uk - 5 hours ago. Marks seem to have improved as well. The mens range seemed good. Never seem to have my size, especially if you want say 2 pairs trousers. Annoying. By the way I'm nothing strange just a 36 waist and 31 leg.

..

How I Rate NEXT plc As A 'Buy And Forget' Share
Fool.co.ukBy Rupert Hargreaves | Fool.co.uk – 5 hours ago

Right now I'm analysing some of the most popular companies in the FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) to establish if they are attractive long-term buy and forget investments.

Today I'm looking at NEXT .

What is the sustainable competitive advantage?

Unfortunately, NEXT lacks a strong, sustainable competitive advantage over its peers. For example, while peer Marks & Spencer (Other OTC: MAKSF - news) is credited with the title of the second most valuable retail brand in the UK, NEXT lacks any such acclaim.

Indeed, the lack of a strong competitive advantage showed through within NEXT's first-half results, as the company reported that high-street sales for the period had fallen around 1%.

That said, during the same period, NEXT reported strong sales growth of 8.3% at its NEXT Directory business. However, peer Dunelm Group (LSE: DNLM.L - news) also reported a rise in sales of 12.2% for the same period, so it likely that NEXT is benefiting from a trend affecting the whole industry.

Still, despite the lack of a competitive advantage over its peers, NEXT is an extremely cash generative company.

In particular, the company reported operating profit margins of 20% for its 2013 financial year. In comparison, peer Marks & Spencer reported operating profit margins of only 7%.

Moreover, NEXT has been able to keep its operating profit margin between 18% and 20% for the last three years. This indicates to me that the company is able to set the prices on its goods and maintain a high level of cash generation, a very good trait in a buy-and-forget share.

Company's long-term outlook?

Without a strong competitive advantage it is hard to comment on NEXT's long-term outlook.

Furthermore, NEXT also lacks a time-tested history as the company has only been around since the 80s, which makes the firm look young in comparison to the centenarian Marks & Spencer.

Having said that, the company's online and catalogue offerings are popular with customers and this sales channel allows NEXT to keep costs down and profits up.

Foolish summary

Unless they are leaders in their field, retailers generally do not make very good shares to buy and forget, and NEXT is no exception.

The lack of strong competitive advantage combined with the company's dependence on the UK's highly competitive high street do not lead me to believe that the company will continue to outperform its peers.

So overall, despite the company's cash generative nature, I rate NEXT as a poor share to buy and forget.

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 5,270. Over this period, the share price is up 47.35%.

Interim Management Statement

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4695506

Next ups full-year profit, sales guidance
By Jon Hopkins October 30 2013, 9:01am Next now expects a 2013-14 pre-tax profit of £650-680mlnNext now expects a 2013-14 pre-tax profit of £650-680mln

Britain's second biggest clothing retailer, Next (LON:NXT), has raised its full-year profit guidance after seeing solid trading in the third-quarter, sending its shares to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board.

The firm said it now expects a 2013-14 pre-tax profit of £650-680mln, a year-on-year increase of 4.6-9.4%, up from previous guidance for a pre-tax profit of £635-675mln.

Next reported total sales up 4.3% in the 13 weeks to October 26, above the company's guidance for sales growth of 1-4% in its second-half and an improvement from growth of 2.3% seen in the first-half.

Next was reliant on a strong performance from its Directory catalogue business, where sales increased 10.7%, while sales at its stores only rose 0.4%, reflecting unhelpfully warm autumn weather.

The retailer also raised its sales forecast for the full-year to up 2.0-3.75% from up 1.5-3.5%.

In reaction, broker Oriel Securities upgraded its pre-tax profit forecasts for both this year and next year by £11mln to £671mln and £712mln respectively.

“This morning’s statement is a positive for the sector and does breed modest upgrades. The shares should react positively this morning but the investment case remains fairly valued and we stick with our hold stance,” Oriel analysts said in a note.

Next shares were up 6.9%, taking the rise so far this year to around 50%. Fellow clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) also saw a lift from the Next news, adding 2.1%.
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Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 5,620. Over this period, the share price is up 52.83%.

Next: Deutsche Bank ups target price from 5600p to 5660p and reiterates a hold recommendation. HSBC increases target price from 5400p to 5610p staying with its neutral rating. Societe Generale raises target price from 5500p to 6000p, while leaving its hold recommendation unchanged.

Next: Jefferies starts with a target price of 6300p and a buy recommendation.

Proactive investor - Next (LON:NXT) topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Tuesday after Oriel Securities gave investors something to cheer with an upgrade to ‘buy’.

The clothing retailer’s stock can still rise some way yet in Oriel’s opinion.

International online sales are set to double in the next two years, which could see the shares climb as high as 6,200p from their current levels of 5,535p, up 135p on the day.

A bullish note on the retail sector lifted Sports Direct (LON:SPD) towards the summit of the benchmark index with the stock boosted by an 850p target price by Liberum Capital.

@ 5572 I've gone short. Seams to be struggling at the moment

+94 pips at the moment, still looks good to hold short.

Nice trade Shortie.

Thanks Skinny, still there's plenty left in this one. I'd don't think I'll see support before 5400.

Nice one shortie. Spreads a bit rich for me Cap Spreads 15 pips.

I'm on 11 pips spread with Cityindex for this (prices above on chart)..

Well done shortie.



5 Dec Citigroup 6,100.00 Buy

@5465 I'm now at +107 pips and considering where to set a stop loss.

personally, i (almost) never set stops as it is all too easy to get shut out on a spike ..... my gut feel is that the market(s) will pop (north!) this afternoon, pretty much regardless of what numbers come in from usa ..... my logic is purely that the markets have tumbled quite a lot over the last few days, so some sort of rally - perhaps short-lived - must be on the cards