UK Retailer Next Expects to Join 1 Billion Pound Profit Club

Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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UK Retailer Next Expects to Join 1 Billion Pound Profit Club

Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Next said on Wednesday it expected to report annual profit in excess of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) for the first time in its history, underscoring the success of the British clothing retailer.
The group raised its outlook again after a better-than-expected 7.6% rise in third quarter to Oct. 26 full-price sales, driven by the early arrival of colder weather this year, versus an unusually warm September and early October last year, Reuters reported.
Breaking through the 1 billion pound profit mark would cap Next's position as one of the best run retailers in Britain, having found a successful recipe combining more than 800 stores in the UK and Ireland and nearly 8 million online customers.
It also has nearly 2 million overseas customers buying through its website and many more who buy its products via third party websites, or so-called aggregators.
The strong performance, which puts it in the ranks of supermarket Tesco and clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer as British retailers to have made a profit of over 1 billion pounds, has sent its shares up by 47% over the last year, hitting a record high in September.
The company, which is considered a useful gauge of how consumers are faring, raised its guidance for the fourth quarter by 1 percentage point to 3.5%. It was the third increase to its outlook in four months.
It said the improved sales in the third quarter along with its forecast for the fourth quarter added 43 million pounds to full-price sales and 10 million pounds to profit.
That took its profit guidance for the 2024-25 year from 995 million pounds to 1.005 billion.
Official data published earlier this month showed UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in September. However, other retailers have said shoppers remained nervous about spending on discretionary items ahead of the new Labour government's budget statement later on Wednesday.



UK's Frasers Demands Appointment of Mike Ashley as Boohoo CEO

FILE PHOTO: A woman poses with a smartphone showing the Boohoo app in front of the Boohoo logo on display in this illustration taken September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman poses with a smartphone showing the Boohoo app in front of the Boohoo logo on display in this illustration taken September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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UK's Frasers Demands Appointment of Mike Ashley as Boohoo CEO

FILE PHOTO: A woman poses with a smartphone showing the Boohoo app in front of the Boohoo logo on display in this illustration taken September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman poses with a smartphone showing the Boohoo app in front of the Boohoo logo on display in this illustration taken September 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

British sportswear retailer Frasers Group called on Thursday for a general meeting of Boohoo to appoint Mike Ashley as a director and CEO of the struggling online fashion retailer, Reuters reported.
Frasers, controlled by British businessman Ashley, is the biggest shareholder in Boohoo with an about 27% stake.
Boohoo said last week that its CEO John Lyttle would step down, as the group announced a strategic review that could see it broken up. It also agreed a debt refinancing with its lenders.
Frasers sent an open letter dated Oct. 23 to the board of the Manchester-based firm, asking for the appointment of Ashley and restructuring professional Mike Lennon as directors to take effect "without delay.”
"The board appointments proposed by Frasers are now the only way to set a new course for Boohoo's future," Frasers said in a statement, urging Boohoo shareholders to back its proposals.
Boohoo said in a separate statement that its board was reviewing the content and validity of the requisitions with its advisers.
Shares in Boohoo rose nearly 4% in early trade. Frasers shares were down marginally by 0703 GMT.
Frasers also opposed the terms of the debt refinancing and said that no disposal of Boohoo should be made without first consulting the Sports Direct owner and all other major shareholders.
Mahmud Kamani, the co-founder and executive chairperson of Boohoo, is the second biggest shareholder with a 12.6% stake in the firm, according to LSEG data.
Kamani along with Carol Kane founded Boohoo in 2006 and listed it on the London stock exchange in 2014.
The fashion retailer, like its UK peer ASOS, had benefited from a pandemic boom in online shopping but has struggled ever since with supply chain problems, higher product returns, competition from rivals such as Shein and Temu and subdued consumer demand.
Frasers walked away from making a formal offer for British luxury handbag maker Mulberry on Wednesday after its two proposals were rejected.