Overview

Next plc is a British multinational clothing, footwear, and home products retailer, which has its headquarters in England. The company was founded in 1864. It has around 700 stores, of which circa 500 are in the United Kingdom, and circa 200 across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Next is the largest clothing retailer by sales in the United Kingdom, having overtaken Marks & Spencer in early 2012 and 2014. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Next has around 7 million online customers in the UK, close to 25% of the UK’s 28 million households. The company’s 466 stores give a presence in almost all major UK and Ireland trading locations. The next product ranges stretch from women’s clothing to upholstery. So the opportunities to expand the company’s customer base, trading space, and product offers are less numerous than they were. Next is far from running out of ideas. Next product teams continue to push the boundaries of their offers, in terms of design content, price architecture, and product categories. Next’s e-commerce and marketing teams can still do much more to recruit and retain new customers and drive growth in website traffic, online conversion, and sales per customer.