Next’s online and catalogue sales have exceeded £1 billion for the very first time, boosted by customers collecting a fifth of their orders in its 536 commercial property stores.
Next Directory, which is 25 years old, played an enormous part in helping the commercial property fashion and home wares giant weather “the perfect storm”, to deliver a 5 per cent increase in profits to £570.3 million over the year.
Lord Wolfson, the Chief Executive of Next, said: “We continue to see more and more directory customers using our shops to receive and return our products.”
The group’s online and catalogue business delivered operating profit of £262.6 million on sales, up by 16% to £1.09 billion.
Lord Wolfson said the outlook for this financial year was “very uncertain” but said: “I don’t think it will get any worse [for consumers].”
Around 20 per cent of customer orders placed on Next Directory were collected from Next’s commercial properties and around 59 per cent of returns were brought to their high street stores. However, retail sales did fall by 1.4 per cent. But the figures do show that people still want a commercial property to visit, even if it is just to collect or take back goods.
Boosted by Next Directory and growth in its international commercial property shops, the fashion chain’s total sales rose by 2 per cent to £3.51 billion, though its UK stores revenues fell.
Speaking of the company’s success and future, Lord Wolfson stated: “I think we have done better in Directory than we anticipated, particularly our overseas business.
“We remain convinced that there is a continued place for fashion stores and that increasingly customers will see stores and online as part of a single service.”
To ensure their success, the company did close 14 commercial properties this year, which were underperforming. Out of the 536 stores that Next currently owns, 485 make a return of over 15 per cent in profit.
Next is one of the many retailers that will benefit from the Government’s decision to operate longer opening hours over eight Sundays in July, August and September, spanning the London Olympic Games. Lord Wolfson welcomed the relaxation in Sunday opening hours and hoped the move could continue past the stated dates: “As far as Next is concerned, I would be happy for it to be made permanent.”
