DISMAL high street trading during the pre-Christmas freeze has prompted music chain HMV to close 60 stores, as fashion retailer Next blamed December’s weather conditions for £22m in lost sales.

However, upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose is to roll out 39 stores in the UK this year, creating 3,000 jobs.

HMV will axe 40 shops and 20 of its Waterstones outlets this year in a bid to slash rental costs, after it issued a profits warning that said adverse weather had “significantly undermined”

trade.

A spokesman refused to confirm if any of its 27 stores in the North-East were under threat, but it is understood that consultation with staff has begun ahead of possible redundancies.

The chain, which has been battling with supermarkets and online outlets, said in a statement that they were now “taking aggressive action as we continue to tightly manage our cost base”.

Blizzard conditions, the recession and the rise of online music downloads have all played their part in undermining HMV’s role. The business will attempt to expand sales of concert tickets and clothing.

Chief executive Simon Fox said: “Whilst HMV has had a challenging year to date, it remains a profitable and cashgenerative business and a powerful entertainment brand.”

Fashion retailers Next saw like-for-like sales in the five months to 24 December drop 6.1 per cent, but it is on course for annual profits of £550m.

The expansion of Waitrose comes as its parent company, the John Lewis Partnership, reported bumper Christmas sales.

Sales at its John Lewis department stores in the five weeks to 1 January were £545m, up 8.9 per cent from a year before.

The strong performance was driven by its electrical and home technology department, as well as a 42 per cent rise in online sales, the partnership said in its trading update.

“Online sales soared during the first snowfall as customers struggled to get to the shops,”

said Andy Street, John Lewis managing director.

Christmas sales at Waitrose were also strong, up 8.9 per cent for the week to 23 December.

The supermarket chain, which currently commands four per cent of the market, is growing rapidly, having opened 20 stores last year, bringing its total to 241.

A clearer picture of the retail sector will emerge in the coming days when Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Kingfisher issue trading statements.