Next
This coverage explores Next’s business strategy, operations, and performance within the UK retail sector. Reporting covers store and online developments, product ranges, financial results, marketing initiatives, supply chain management, and leadership decisions. With a focus on commercial outcomes and competitive positioning, it provides insights for retail professionals overseeing apparel, home, and multi-channel retail operations.
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Mar- 2018 -23 MarchHigh Street
Next admits 2017 was ‘the most challenging year’ as annual profits drop
Next has seen its annual profits drop by 8% after what the retailer described as its most challenging year for 25 years. The fashion retailer’s pre-tax profits dropped to £726.1m down from £790.2m, although this was in line with expectations. Next attributed the decline to “a weak clothing market” as…
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19 MarchClothing & Shoes
Next expected to post profits drop, say analysts
Analysts have predicted that clothing chain Next will be latest retailer to report a fall in profits this Friday. It is expected that the 154-year-old company will report earnings of £725m – an 8% drop in annual pre-tax profits compared with last year’s figure of £790m. However, analysts also said…
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13 MarchGovernment
Leading retailers support plan for sustainability and equality
Over 25 leading UK retailers, including Sainsbury’s and John Lewis, have signed up to a series of pledges to tackle global challenges over the coming decades. The ‘Better Retail Better World’ scheme includes a series of stretching targets for the retail industry to achieve by 2020, and uses the United…
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12 MarchEconomy
Quarter of major UK retailers likely to suffer ‘financial distress’
A new study of over 1600 larger UK retailers with total assets of £5m or over by Company Watch, a financial analytics firm, found over a quarter were financially vulnerable to rises in interest rate costs this year. Company Watch compares the financial strength of companies using its unique H-Score…
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8 MarchClothing & Shoes
Next faces £30m equal pay claim
Law firm Pattinson & Brewer has initiated legal proceedings against clothing chain Next, on behalf of female store workers who it alleges receive less pay than men in comparable roles. The group’s equal pay action will argue that thousands of Next store staff are owed compensation because of unequal pay…
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Feb- 2018 -28 FebruaryClothing & Shoes
Tesco, Asda and Next accused of using harmful factories
British retailers Next, Asda and Tesco are among the companies that continue to source some of their materials from dirty and dangerous factories, according to the Changing Markets Foundation. In the Dirty Fashion revisited report, published by the foundation that exposes irresponsible corporate practices, it says that two viscose factories…
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27 FebruaryHigh Street
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…
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Jan- 2018 -17 JanuaryAnalysis
The five retail trends that almost certainly, probably won’t happen in 2018
As we begin the new year, many experts are offering their predictions for the retail industry. However, I think it’s important to provide a unique take on the well-tread predictions pieces with five hotly-tipped trends that won’t actually come to pass in 2018 Social commerce becomes the dominant sales channel…
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12 JanuaryNews
Shoppers make 80% of retail purchases online
Online shoppers in the UK make 80% of their retail purchases online, up from 74%, according to a new report. The Royal Mail’s ‘Delivery Matters’ report found that the proportion of money being spent online has increased year on year. The average online shopper spends £40 each month on clothes…
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3 JanuaryNews
Next boosts profit forecast by £7m after stronger Christmas sales
Clothing retailer Next has raised its full year profit forecast by £7m after delivering a stronger than expected Christmas sales period. The period yielded a 1.5% increase in full-price sales from November 1 to December 24, attributed to strong online sales for winter clothing as customers prepared for the cold…
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