Good half year for Next but retailer demands more from supply chain
September 17th 2010 UK retailer Next has announced its results for the half year ending July 2010, with sales up 5% and profit up 15%.
The results have gone hand in hand with squeezing the supply chain.
The retailer’s report reads: ‘Warehouse and distribution costs were reduced as a percentage of sales, improving margin by 1%. This was driven by contribution to overheads from third party client business, lower costs per parcel and more customers collecting their parcels from our stores.’
Next will also place more pressure on its supply chain by pushing back the cut off time for next day delivery of online sales.
The report says: ‘Two years ago it was 5pm, today it is 7pm and from October most customers will be able to order stock up to 9pm for delivery the following day.’ More articles from Handling & Storage Solutions: | 
