Agenda: Next and the BRC Nielsen Shop Price Index

Next

The fashion retailer will report its fourth-quarter update on Wednesday, January 3. Next, which has fallen from grace over the past 18 months, will reveal its trading for the 12 weeks until December 24.

Boss Lord Wolfson reported a tale of two halves at its last update, with retail sales sinking 7.7% and directory sales jumping 13.2%.

Full-price sales advanced 1.3%, driven by directory growth. The market will be keen to find out what Lord Wolfson made of Next’s first foray into Black Friday discounting, and to discover the impact that will have made on margin.

BRC Nielsen Shop Price Index

The industry body, in conjunction with Nielsen, will report its Shop Price Index for December on Friday, January 5.

At its last update, the BRC Nielsen index warned that a run of shop price deflation stretching back more than four years was about to come to an end.

Prices inched down just 0.1% in November – the slowest rate of deflation for four years, with non-food price deflation easing to 1.1% while food price inflation continued but slowed year on year.

The industry will be waiting to see whether deflation finally comes to an end as it enters 2018.