If you’d invested in: Next and Superdry

If only...

Shares in clothing retailer Next (LSE: NXT) soared last September after the firm reassured investors with a "modest" profit upgrade. They then slipped in October after Next warned that sales remained "extremely volatile" and would probably decline.

In May Next raised its full-year profit forecast from £705m to £717m as the sunny weather boosted quarterly sales; full-price sales in the 14 weeks to 7 May rose 6% as an 18.1% increase in online sales offset a 4.8% decline in stores. Still, Next doesn't expect to see similar growth rates again this year.

Be glad you didn't buy...

Superdry (LSE: SDRY)

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In May they fell again as Superdry revealed that sales in its shops fell 6% year-on-year to £86.1m in the three months to the end of April, partly because of cold weather. Investors were also spooked by the retailer's forecast of only "high single-digit" revenue growth in its new financial year; the firm has warned of "challenging conditions".

Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.

Alice is now Consumer Editor at The Sun and covers everything from energy bills to Social Security.