Jan 4, 2017

Wolfson’s escalating problems at Next

In his day job, as the earnest and slightly pedagogic chief executive of retail chain Next, he appears to have already narrowed down the problem: to the speed and direction of escalators. While Next's full-price sales in the 54 days to December 24 were down only 0.4 per cent overall, in-store sales fell 3.5 per cent. In its half-year results, Next said profit from stores had fallen 16.8 per cent to £134m. With Lord Wolfson now cutting full-year profit guidance for a third time, it seems unlikely that his underused escalators proved to be festive transports of delight. More worryingly, of six proposed improvements to Next Directory last March, only three had an immediate impact on sales: better stock availability, a mobile site and online marketing. Had Sir John Chilcot taken only five-and-a-half years longer than planned to produce his Iraq Inquiry Report, the ideal next job would have presented itself: enforcement director at the Competition and Markets Authority.

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