Web sales lift Next

Sales through directory service have risen 9.5 per cent year on year

Internet sales have given Next a boost

High-street fashion chain Next has hailed improvements to its internet sales systems for helping it weather tricky trading conditions.

In its latest half-yearly results, Next’s chief executive Lord Wolfson noted that sales made through its directory service had risen by 9.5 per cent year on year.

A significant source of that increase had been a 61 per cent increase in the number of customers buying goods without having a Next account. The rise in these sales “reduces our exposure to bad debt,” he added.

Next has also enhanced its supply chain, which now enables customers to place orders later at night for next-day delivery. Two years ago customers had to order by 5pm to get it delivered the following day, said Wolfson, now it is 7pm.

“From October most customers will be able to order stock up to 9pm for delivery the following day,” he said.

For the six months to July 2010, profits at Next rose to £155m on revenue of £1.59bn compared to profits of £134m on revenues of £1.51bn in the same period a year earlier.