Next is one of the UK’s largest retailers with a domestic market share of around 10%, selling clothing, shoes, accessories and homeware. Originally founded in 1864 as menswear tailor Joseph Hepworth & Son, it eventually evolved into Next in 1982 after the purchase of womenswear retailer Kendall and Sons in 1981. Its ecommerce website also acts as a marketplace platform for brands such as Calvin Klein, Dorothy Perkins, Warehouse and Ralph Lauren. The retailer bought Lipsy in 2008 to appeal to a younger audience. Next has taken big steps to integrate its online and offline proposition, using stores to drive click and collect, including one-hour in-store pick-up, and process ecommerce returns. Next has also partnered with Amazon to allow customers to pick up parcels from its stores – driving footfall and incremental spend. The retailer operates around 500 stores domestically and around 200 in 32 other countries.
Pureplay fashion retailer Zalando says it will keep its warehouses open in a bid to preserve “business continuity” despite saying it had seen a drop in consumer demand for its products due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fashion giants Next and TK Maxx have closed their warehouses and stopped taking online orders to protect staff from the coronavirus pandemic.
Next and Greggs will both close their stores temporarily as two of the high street’s biggest names react to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus is dominating headlines, from TV bulletins to the front pages of every newspaper section.
Next chief executive Lord Wolfson has called on the government to introduce income support measures as employment is threatened by the coronavirus outbreak.
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