Michael Law to resign as Next’s group operations director
Next has announced that group operations director Michael Law is to step down as he prepares to retire this summer.
After 23 years at the company, five of which were spent on its board, the fashion retailer has announced that Law will step down from the Next board of directors at its next annual general meeting on 17 May, and then retire in July.
Next said in a statement: “Michael has made a huge contribution to the group in his 23 years with Next. In particular, he has led the transformation of our warehousing, logistics and systems operations over the last 10 years. The board thank him for his outstanding service.”
Next has also announced that it is intended that Richard Papp will replace Law on the board of Next plc on 14 May 2018 as an executive director and new group merchandise and operations director.
On the appointment of Papp, Next added: “Richard has been with Next for 25 years. He joined the group in 1991 as a merchandiser, becoming a merchandise manager in 1996 and was promoted to menswear product director in 2001. In 2005 he gained valuable experience in a similar role at another retailer, returning to Next in 2006 to take up the role of group merchandise director.
“In this role he is responsible for Next’s merchandising function, product systems, international franchise, and clearance operations. He has worked extremely closely with our warehousing, logistics and systems teams to develop our online platform and is perfectly placed to lead the continued development of the group’s operations.”
