Next

Next plc is one of the United Kingdom’s largest clothing and home retailers and a FTSE 100 constituent. Led by CEO Lord Simon Wolfson since 2001, the group has transformed over the past decade from a pure retail-and-catalog operator into a hybrid retailer-platform business through its Total Platform offering, which provides infrastructure services to third-party brands.

Next closed fiscal year 2025 (ended 25 January 2025) with group revenue exceeding £6 billion, a record high, building on a £918 million profit before tax recorded in FY24. The group’s strategic evolution since 2021 has centered on equity stakes in third-party brands run through Total Platform infrastructure. Next acquired a 25% stake in Reiss in March 2021, raised that to 51% in 2022, then to approximately 72% in September 2023 through a £128 million transaction with Warburg Pincus. The Reiss family retains 22%, management 6%. Next also holds 97% of FatFace following its 2023 acquisition, and Total Platform clients include JoJo Maman Bébé, Joules, MADE, the UK franchise of Victoria’s Secret, and the UK franchise of Bath & Body Works. Next returned £425 million to shareholders in FY24 through dividends and buybacks. Online sales surpassed £3.2 billion in FY25, exceeding store revenues for the sixth consecutive year.

Next operates around 460 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland, with additional standalone locations in continental Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Outside the UK, the rest of Europe generated approximately £660 million in FY25, followed by the Middle East. The format ranges from compact 6,000 square-foot high-street stores to 60,000 square-foot out-of-town flagships combining clothing, home, beauty, and partner brand shop-in-shops. For mall operators, Next is a Class A anchor in UK regional and super-regional centers with strong family demographics, and the brand’s Total Platform infrastructure means a Next store often hosts in-store concessions for partner brands, increasing throughput per square foot.