Next fails to grow. British distribution company closed the third quarter of this year (the period that ended on September 29) stagnating in sales, with an annual growth of only 0.4%. Excluding the impact of the exit of Russia and Ukraine, growth is 1.5%.
After the results, the company confirmed its forecasts for the rest of the year, which include a 2% decline in sales in the fourth quarter. In the full fiscal year, Next will also reduce sales by 2% compared to the previous year. In addition, the British company estimates that its annual gross profit will amount to 840 million pounds (975.7 million euros), which represents an annual growth of 2.1%.
By distribution channels, Next increased its sales by 3.1% through its physical store network, which is concentrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Revenue through the online channel fell 1.9% in the third quarter.
Next increased its sales by 1.5% in the third quarter, reducing the impact of Russia and Ukraine
The British company presented the evolution of its sales week by week from the last presentation of results last September to October 29. While, in the first week of the period, the company’s revenues increased by 11%, in the following week they increased by only 0.7%.
In the third week, Next sales slightly accelerated with an annual increase of 1.5%. From October 16, the company began to reduce traffic and fell 3.7%, followed by a second decline of 1.3% in the last week of the period.
From January 2023 the British company plans to have a network of 466 own stores and a total of 8,241 points of sale. Next will close sixteen of its own stores this year, nine of them because “those stores would not be able to reach the target margin under any conditions”.
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