Two retailers investing heavily in the county have seen their profits fall.

John Lewis profits have plummeted by 53.3 per cent to £26.6m for the half-year ending 29 July, after a £56.4m charge mainly for restructuring and redundancy costs, as reported by the BBC .

At the John Lewis department store, operating profits rose by per cent. But at Waitrose, operating profits fell 18 per cent due to higher costs.

Elsewhere on the high street, it's been a tough year for Next too, as reported by The Telegraph .

Pre-tax profits fell 9.5 per cent to £309.4m, while total sales dropped by 2.2 per cent to £1.9bn during the six months to the end of July, dragged down by a 8.3 per cent fall in store sales.

The group's online business, Next Directory, grew sales by 5.7 per cent over the past six months to £868.4m, although the bulk of sales came from third-party brands rather than Next's own label.

Both John Lewis and Next are set to open brand new stores in the county. Work is continuing in Cheltenham on the new John Lewis store on the site of the former Beechwood shopping centre, which is set to open next year.

And Next will to be the anchor store in the regeneration of Gloucester's Peel Centre.

It remains to be seen what, if any, effect the latest news will have on these two developments. Could Gloucestershire buck the trend when the new stores open?

It seems the fall in profits has affected companies across the board. The news from high-end John Lewis comes hot on the heels of a 28.3 per cent fall in profits  at budget homeware store, Dunelm.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk