Growth Next's catalogue business

British fashion retailer Next reported a sales increase of 18 per cent to GBP 2.2m in the year ended 1 February 2003. The Next Directory catalogue business had a particularly good year with sales jumped by 30 per cent to GBP 471.7m while Next Retail recorded a 16 per cent rise in sales to GBP 1.58m.

"The success of the Leicester-based company stems from concentrating on the Next brand rather than diversifying into other clothing brands", said chairman David Jones.

The strategy to focus on product development, larger stores and to build a solid mail order customer base has proven successful and will therefore be continued in the future. Next Directory today ranks among the few profitable catalogue companies in the UK. The company is extending its foreign franchise network to 59 stores, This retail network saw sales for the period grow 19 per cent and profit by 20 per cent.