Sales for the year to December 24 are 1.25% ahead of expectations and sales growth in the final week before Christmas reached nearly £24m.
In its January 2014 trading statement, looking at the fourth quarter of 2013, figures were ahead of what was forecasted by the company in October. Sales (excluding VAT) were up 7.7% on the previous quarter in the retail arm of the Next business and 21% in Next Directory.

Despite the week commencing December 22 benefiting from an extra day before Christmas, growth soared to nearly £24m, double the figure from the previous week (beginning December 15) and much higher than any week since July

As a result of a strong fourth quarter, the company said in its statement it is raising its profit forecast range, which is now £684m to £700m.

Looking further into next year, the retailer believes the economy will continue to steadily improve. However, it said: "The problem of little or no growth in real earnings looks set to persist for some time, and we cannot see any reason to expect a significant increase in total consumer spending in the year ahead."