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/

EXCUSE ME ''THING'' Cannot tell you if I am loaded . lol


Do you still have that ASOS junk. lol ?

'Asos junk'..ha ha ..well yea..for that ill not tell u too.lol

Well done with asos

you too with next, always top job to get all time highs.

Retailers were in focus on news they are experiencing weak footfall, according to data from the British Retail Consortium. Meanwhile, dismal official UK retail sales data for November underlined the challenge.

Supermarket operators were hit the reports of a slow lead-up to Christmas, with Tesco down 1.65p at 338.15p, Morrisons off 0.7p at 264.6p and Sainsbury 0.3p lower at 352.9p. Fashion house Next slipped 41p at 3,729p.

DC - as posted on a few occasions, of uk high street retailers, i too like NXT, though i do not currently hold ..... thought the company was long in the doldrums with boring merchandise and other malaise, it is now trying to take on Zara (an excellent outfit if you'll excuse the pun), and its comparatively recent foray into internet shopping is also proving most successful

for all that, i am still disinclined to buy into any high street retailer - you only need to look down your own high street or shopping mall to see why

Agree cynic, happy christmas by the way. I do not hold either . Interesting how the christmas period goes for them.

Next figures give first guide to festive sales

All eyes will be on Ftse 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) high street titan Next (Other OTC: NXGPF - news) on Thursday, as the retail bellwether offer up some of the sector's first hard news on festive sales.

Next set to reveal dip in festive shopping.

Fashion retailer Next is expected to reveal a sales slowdown this week as the festive spirit failed to temp shoppers to splash cash. The firm is tipped to post a 2% fall in high street sales over the christmas period when it becomes the first of the nations top retailers to report seasonal figures on Thursday. This is down on the 1.1% rise seen in the previous three months. Its online directory business is likely to have performed better with a 10% rise However this is down from the 16.9% increase produced last christmas. Analysts Seymour Pierce said next's rivals Marks & Spencer and Debenhams which report later in January have also struggled. It said womenswear sales at M & S would continue to disappoint while promotions at Debenhams will have failed to spark a consumer uplift.

Thursday preview: Next benefits from festive shopping sales
Wed 02 Jan 2013

Next 3,772.00p +1.70%


LONDON (SHARECAST) - Hot off the heels of festive trading Next is scheduled to report a strong fourth quarter performance.

The UK’s second-biggest clothing retailer will Thursday unveil its sales results for the Christmas period.

The full year profit before tax estimate was put at £598m by Nomura Equity Research.

The broker predicted the company would deliver full year brand sales of up to 4%, based on data which showed clothing sales were up 6% in November.

Next's trading update follows reports of average trading across the wider retail sector in the run up to Christmas.

Results were boosted by Boxing Day sales as an estimated 10m UK consumers scrambled get their hands on good deals. Next stores opened doors as early as 06:00 on December 26th to deal with demand.

Online sales also soared to unprecedented levels this year with shoppers searching for bargains on retail websites.

“The Next ‘formula’ is likely to continue - modest space growth, supplemented by good online sales, margin management and share buy-backs imply double-digit total shareholder returns, in our opinion,” Nomura said.
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Fashion chain Next (LON:NXT) reports on January 3 in what Panmure Gordon calls “the first moment of truth from a quoted [retail] company”.

The broker is neutral on Next, but observes that the retailer “has been backing trends strongly and has stuck to its no discounting policy,” and could surprise to the upside.

Espirito Santo is also neutral on Next, which will be giving sales figures for the 21 weeks ended just before Christmas.

As Next has already reported fiscal third quarter sales for the August to October period, Espirito Santo has concentrated on forecasting sales for the eight weeks of November and December.

For this period, it estimates UK Brand sales growth of 4.0%, which would represent a slowdown from the implied circa 6% growth in September and October, following a weak August (-3%) performance when we were all apparently too busy watching sport on the telly to go out and buy a summer outfit.

“Within this we assume Next Retail grew sales 1.3% for the 21 weeks and +1.6% for the 8 weeks (with LFL sales down -1.3% and -1% for the same periods). In contrast we anticipate Directory sales continued to benefit from online demand increasing, despite the annualisation of the benefit of a 9pm cut-off for next day delivery. Hence, we forecast Directory sales growth of 6.5% for the 21 weeks and 8% for the 8 weeks, down from 13% in the 1H but up from +5.6% in the 3Q,” the bank’s retail analyst, Caroline Gulliver says.

January 2013 Trading Statement

Whoping open! good numbers. dc im surprised u not holding despite all that ramp up!

Amazing - new high @3935

Shares in fashion retailer Next (LON:NXT) were lifted this morning after it lifted profits guidance following a solid end to the year but the analyst community seems to be collectively humming ‘that don’t impress me much’.

The High Street stalwart lifted its full year profits guidance range to £611million - £625 mln, from £590mln - £620mln previously.

Broker N+1 Singer said it saw no reason, given Next’s high relative valuation, to change its ‘hold’ stance on the stock, despite today’s small earnings estimate upgrades.

Oriel Securities agrees, and is also sticking with its ‘hold’ recommendation.

City firm Seymour Pierce is another broker sitting on the fence when it comes to Next.

“We believe the company was one of the winners over Christmas helped by a strong range geared to the colder weather. Next is a highly cash generative, tightly run and looks to continue to execute on the basics of giving the consumer great product and capitalising on its leading multi-channel position," says analyst Freddie George.

"However, the sector has performed strongly over the last year and sector rotation is likely to lead to a period of consolidation,” he adds.

DC - most definitely not aim!

Been a long day. skinny.

Broker snap: Panmure ups forecasts for Next
Thu 03 Jan 2013

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Panmure Gordon has lifted its price target for retailing group Next from 3,770p to 3,848p following the company's Christmas trading update on Thursday morning which showed 'continued strength'.

The broker said that trading between November 1st and December 24th 2012 was strong with both sales and margins coming in better than expected.

Meanwhile, buy-backs of £241m last year compared with guidance of £200m, and the buy-back guidance for the year to January 2014 is £250m, well ahead of Panmure's £190m estimate.

Finally, Next raised its full-year (ending January 2013) profit before tax guidance from £590-620m to £611-625m. Panmure had pencilled in a figure closer to £612.7m for this year and has moved it up to £617.8m accordingly. The broker also raised next year's forecast from £640.7m to £644.6m.

However, despite the forecast upgrades, Panmure retained its 'hold' rating for Next.

"Trading on a FY2013E price-to-earnings ratio of 13.5 on our new estimates, dropping to 12.3 in FY2014E, we think that Next shares have some upside but not enough to justify a 'buy' recommendation," analysts said.

Nevertheless, they said that they are still "big fans of this blue blood multi-channel retailer".

Shares were up 2.31% at 3,859p in morning trade on Thursday.

Next price target hiked to £42 by Deutsche Bank
9:21 am The rise in target price underpins the bank's buy advice.

Deutsche Bank has raised its price target for retailer Next (LON:NXT) after better than expected trading figures kicked off the sector’s post-Christmas reporting season on a cheery note.

The broker has raised its price target to £4 a share to £42 following Thursday’s trading statement, underpinning its ‘buy’ recommendation. The stock is currently changing hands for £38.67.

The “positive surprise” for Deutsche was the performance of the Next Directory catalogue business, which posted an 11.2% rise in revenues over the crucial selling period. For the Next Brand as a whole, sales in the period from November 1 to December 24 were up 3.9%.

While top-line growth chimed with management expectations, there were better than expected outcomes in terms of cost control, mark-downs and gross margins.

This has prompted Next to lift its full-year profits guidance range to £611mln-£625mln; previously, guidance had indicated full year profits would be in the range of £590mln-£620mln

The best companies are those run by talented and experienced leaders with strong vested interests in the success of the business, held in check by a board with sound financial and business acumen. Some of the worst investments to hold are those run by executives collecting fat rewards as the underlying business goes to pot.

In this series, I'm assessing the boardrooms of companies within the FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) (UKX). I hope to separate the management teams that are worth following from those that are not. Today I am looking at Next (Other OTC: NXGPF - news) , the Britain's largest fashion group.

Here are the key directors:



Director Position



John Barton

(non-exec) Chairman



Lord Wolfson of Apsley Guise

Chief Executive



David Keens

Finance Director



Christos Angelides

Product Director



Andrew Varley

Property Director


John Barton joined the board in 2002 and became chairman in 2006. A chartered accountant, his background is in the insurance industry. He was CEO of Jardine Insurance Brokers for 13 years until 1997, and when it merged to form Jardine Lloyd Thompson (LSE: JLT.L - news) he served as chairman for the next four years. He has also been chairman of Brit Insurance, and maintains his connection with the industry as chairman of FTSE 250 (FTSE: ^FTMC - news) insurance broker Catlin.

He also served on the board of Cable and Wireless Worldwide, and was chairman at the time of its demise.

Stronger

No doubt a stronger voice on the board is that of CEO Simon Wolfson, the Tory Peer. The son of former chairman David Wolfson he started working at Next as a sales assistant in 1991 and worked his way up the company, becoming CEO in 2001 at the age of 33. That makes him both one of the youngest FTSE 100 chief executives ever, and currently one of the longest-serving.

Next shares have quadrupled during his tenure. That and the company's reputation for delivering on forecasts and its iconic position on the High Street, coupled with Lord Wolfson's prominence in the Tory party, ensures that he is one of the most listened-to of FTSE leaders.

David Keens has been finance director since 1991. A chartered accountant, he spent seven years in the profession before a nine year-stint in the food industry, joining Next in 1986 as group treasurer.

Fashion

Christos Angelides also joined the company in 1986, initially responsible for sourcing product in Hong Kong. He has held positions as head of menswear and womenswear and was appointed to the board in 2000. In a business driven by the fickleness of fashion he is seen as the product guru who has forged Next's success alongside CEO Simon Wolfson.

Property director Andrew Varley is also long-serving. He joined Next in 1985 after 12 years in retail and commercial property, and joined the board in 1990.

To my mind it's good to see senior functional heads on the board, rather than just a CEO and finance director. But with such long-serving executive team I wonder if the four non-execs -- with neatly balanced backgrounds in investment banking, accountancy, retail and property -- can have much sway.

I analyse management teams from five different angles to help work out a verdict. Here's my assessment:



1. Reputation. Management CVs and track record.Excellent though short of external experience.

Score 3/5



2. Performance. Success at the company.Successful.

Score 4/5



3. Board Composition. Skills, experience, balanceGood mix but executive-dominated.

Score 3/5



4. Remuneration. Fairness of pay, link to performance.Fair. Pay was reduced last year.

Score 4/5



5. Directors' Holdings, compared to their pay.Executives have substantial holdings. CEO's is £58m-worth.

Score 5/5


Overall, Next scores 19 out of 25, a top quartile result. The board is dominated by a long-serving executive team, but looks fit for purpose.

Next: Goldman Sachs raises target price from 3800p to 4100p keeping a neutral rating.

Next is reaping the rewards of having a multi-channel business in place, allowing shoppers to use the web to reserve, collect in store or arrange home delivery, with Next demonstrating that consumers are just as willing to buy clothes online as they are books. Next's Directory business is growing much faster than its retail operation,and the company now expects group profits to be roughly £618m for the full year to January 2013, implying earnings growth of between 14 and 17 per cent.
However, Next warns that rising price inflation ahead of wages means the consumer enviroment will remain subdued - although the group has a tendency to play down expectations and subsequently beat them.