Next preps online return after coronavirus shutdown
Next is set to reopen its website in the coming days, following two weeks of being offline due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In an online statement published last month, the retailer said it had listened carefully to colleagues in its warehouses and distribution operations.
“It is clear that many increasingly feel they should be at home in the current climate. As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to close our warehouse and distribution operations until further notice.”
Following a consultation with staff, new safety measures have been put in place, including one-way systems and new walkways at its warehouses. These have the support of the union Usdaw.
More than 3,000 members of staff have volunteered to return to work, although not all of these will begin straight away. The online relaunch will initially involve a small range of items being made available to shoppers. There will also be limits on the number of items that can be ordered in a day.
Asos
Next rival Asos has remained open for business during the coronavirus pandemic.
It recently reported a 21% rise in sales to £1.6 billion for the six months to the end of February. And it posted a record pre-tax profit of £30.1 million in the first half, the result of strong trading and cost cutting.
At the same time, it has raised more than £200 million from shareholders as it seeks to mitigate the effects of the lockdown that has reduced consumers’ appetite for clothes etc. Asos also said it was finalising discussions to secure a 12-month extension to its debt facility of between £60 million and £80 million.
The pureplay is seeing a significant downturn in demand, with sales dropping as much as 25% in the last three weeks of trading. Meanwhile, according to the GMB, its warehouse workers are begging the retailer to close, saying they are ‘like rats’ trapped in a ‘cradle of disease’.
