Next braced for 'tougher times' after poor festive sales

High Street chain Next says it is bracing for "tougher times" in 2017 after announcing disappointing festive sales.

The fashion and homewares giant warned over both sales and profits after worse-than-expected sales in the 54 days to December 24 fell 0.4%.

They also posted a 7% plunge in the end-of-season clearance sales, defying hopes of a fourth quarter turnaround.

Next said profits for the year - to January 2017, were expected to fall by 3.6% and warned of a "challenging" year ahead.