DIYWEEK.net

Next has revealed that it has planning permission to open 11 more of its large format Fashion, Home and Garden stores, as it reports robust sales figures for the first half of this year.
In its half year report, published today, the retailer talks about its current retail space and its pipeline plans to expand further. It says, however, that not all of the 11 new format stores will have room for a garden centre. After having opened four already in the past couple of years, 800,000sq ft of retail space is planned to be dedicated to new Home and Garden stores.

Spokesman Alistair Mackinnon-Musson told diyweek.net "a further 18 possible stores of this type could be opened but this is subject to planning negotiations". He added that Next will definitely open another 300,000sq ft in store space by the end of January 2014.

"We will try and incorporate garden products into the stores that don't have separate garden centres. Our mainstream products are fashion and home, but garden products are important to the business," he said.

In the half year results, covering to the end of July 2013, Next recorded a sales increase of 2.2% to £1,677m compared with last year. Pre-tax profit was up 8.2% to £271.8m and operating profit was £285m, a rise of 7.2%, against the first six months of last year. The company says these figures are thanks to additional retailing space and increased online sales.

Next trialled a new Fashion, Home and Garden store in Shoreham, West Sussex, two years ago. Since then, others have sprung up around the country, in Camberley, Surrey, Ipswich and Warrington. Building work has also begun at new stores in Wilmslow and Hedge End, near Southampton.