Next forecasts drop in spring sales amid cost of living crisis and cold weather

Chain’s CEO Lord Wolfson warns of ‘very challenging’ 2023 after signalling price rises of 7%The UK clothing and homeware retailer Next has reported a smaller-than-expected drop in sales in recent weeks but expects a bigger decline in the spring quarter because of the cost of living crisis and colder weather than last year.Next, which has about 500 stores and is seen as a good barometer of consumer spending, said sales were down by 0.7% from a year earlier in the 13 weeks to 29