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UK’s Next Raises Profit Outlook Again

A shopper enters a Next store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
A shopper enters a Next store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
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UK’s Next Raises Profit Outlook Again

A shopper enters a Next store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
A shopper enters a Next store on Oxford Street in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo

British clothing retailer Next on Wednesday raised its full-year profit outlook for the fourth time in six months as it reported better-than-expected sales in a third quarter heavily impacted by variable weather.
The group, which trades from about 460 stores in the UK and Ireland and has an online presence in over 70 countries, is often considered a useful gauge of how British consumers are faring. Its shares were up 2.6% in early trading, extending 2023 gains to 21.4%, Reuters reported.
Next said full price sales rose 4.0% in the quarter to Oct. 28, ahead of guidance for a 2% rise. Online sales increased 6.5%, while store sales fell 0.6%.
The group said sales benefited from a cooler-than-average August and typical autumnal weather in late October, but were depressed by a warmer-than-average September.
"We believe the volatility in sales performance is a result of changing weather conditions rather than any underlying changes in the consumer economy," it said.
Despite cost of living pressures, UK consumer demand has generally held up this year.
However, official data published last month showed British retail sales volumes fell more than expected in September, partly because unseasonably warm weather reduced sales of autumn-wear clothing.
Britain experienced its joint-hottest September on record, part of a heat wave which rival fashion retailer H&M said had depressed sales across much of Europe.
Next said it now expected pretax profit before exceptional items for the year to January 2024 of 885 million pounds ($1.08 billion), ahead of previous guidance of 875 million pounds and the 870.4 million pounds made in 2022/23.
It is assuming that full price sales for the rest of the year will be up 2.0%.
Analysts at Liberum said they were optimistic on Next's prospects, noting its "strong cash generation, management foresight, tech capabilities and new more efficient distribution center capacity allows it to explore multiple new avenues for growth".
Next expects inflationary headwinds to continue to ease in its 2024/25 year, but has cautioned that a softening of the labor market may dampen growth in consumer demand.

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Fashion

80-year-old LL Bean Staple Finds New Audience as Trendy Bag

Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
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80-year-old LL Bean Staple Finds New Audience as Trendy Bag

Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Gracie Wiener poses with some of her tote bags in Washington Square Park in New York, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

L.L. Bean created it 80 years ago to haul heavy blocks of ice. Now it's a must-have summer fashion accessory, The Associated Press reported.

The simple, sturdy canvas bag called the Boat and Tote is having an extended moment 80 years after its introduction, thanks to a social media trend in which they're monogrammed with ironic or flashy phrases.

New Yorker Gracie Wiener helped get it started by ordering her humble bags from L.L. Bean monogrammed with “Psycho” and then “Prada,” the pricey Italian luxury brand, instead of just her name or initials, and posting about them on Instagram. Then others began showcasing their own unique bags on TikTok.

Soon, it wasn’t enough to have a bag monogrammed with “Schlepper,” “HOT MESS,” “slayyyy” or “cool mom.” Customers began testing the limits of the human censors in L.L. Bean’s monogram department, which bans profanity “or other objectionable words or phrases,” with more provocative wording like “Bite me,” “Dum Blonde” and “Ambitchous.”

Social media fueled the surge, just as it did for Stanley’s tumblers and Trader Joe’s $2.99 canvas bags, which were once selling on eBay for $200, said Beth Goldstein, an analyst at Circana, which tracks consumer spending and trends.
The tote’s revival came at a time when price-conscious consumers were forgoing expensive handbags, sales of which have weakened, and L.L. Bean’s bag fit the bill as a functional item that’s trendy precisely because it’s not trendy, she said. L.L. Bean's regular bags top out at about $55, though some fancier versions cost upward of $100.
“There’s a trend toward the utilitarian, the simple things and more accessible price points,” she said, and the customization added to the appeal: “Status items don’t have to be designer price points.”

L.L. Bean’s tote was first advertised in a catalog as Bean’s Ice Carrier in 1944 during World War II, when ice chests were common. Then they disappeared before being reintroduced in 1965 as the Boat and Tote.

These days, they’re still made in Maine and are still capable of hauling 500 pounds of ice, but they are far more likely to carry laptops, headphones, groceries, books, beach gear, travel essentials and other common items.

Those snarky, pop-oriented phrases transformed them into a sassy essential and helped them spread beyond Maine, Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and other New England enclaves to places like Los Angeles and New York City, where fashionistas like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker are toting them — but not necessarily brandished with ironic phrases.

“It’s just one of those things that makes people smile and makes people laugh, and it’s unexpected,” said Wiener, who got it all started with her @ironicboatandtote Instagram page, which she started as a fun side hustle from her job as social media manager for Air Mail, a digital publication launched by former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter.

The folks at L.L. Bean were both stunned and pleased by the continuing growth. For the past two years, the Boat and Tote has been L.L. Bean’s No. 1 contributor to luring in new customers, and sales grew 64% from fiscal years 2021 to 2023, spokesperson Amanda Hannah said.

The surge in popularity is reminiscent of L.L. Bean’s traditional hunting shoe, the iconic staple for trudging through rain and muck, which enjoyed its own moment a few years back, driven by college students.