Next says no-deal Brexit tariffs could save £15M to benefit shoppers

The latest move comes in the wake of the company’s increasing focus on web sales, as it is expected to close around 507 stores over the next 15 years

Next, the fashion retail giant, has announced that after a no-deal Brexit it could save up to £15M with benefits from lower trade tariffs, that could be passed on to the consumers.

Next’s Chief Executive, Lord Simon Wolfson mentioned that consumers are not aware of the daily swings in the political debate and their purpose is to provide them improvements in the cost price, in the form of best pricing.

Citing reliable sources, in February the retail sales showed an increment of 0.4% despite surveys suggesting there is a downfall in consumer confidence. Next had reported a 0.4% fall in pre-tax profits to £722.9m for the 12 months to the end of January. In high street sales, a 7.9% plunge was countered by a 14.7% increment in online revenues.

According to Lord Wolfson, there is no proof regarding the uncertainty that Brexit is affecting consumer behaviour in this sector or not. He claimed Brexit was showing very slight negative impact on the business.

Lord Wolfson said that despite the uncertainty, the economic fundamentals that are affecting consumer behaviour have refined so far, by improved job rates and low inflation.

The latest move comes in the wake of the company’s increasing focus on web sales, as it is expected to close around 507 stores over the next 15 years.

As per Next’s prospective the business’s future is focused on advancing in online sales but around half of the online orders are carried out through a click-and-collect service, with over 80% of returns being completed in store.

The main reason behind this is that every £1 business that is migrated to online costs an additional 6p to Next, which is resulting in undermined profits. Still, advancements in online sales are exponentially well while restructuring costs are set to stay for a while, but Next’s track record suggests that it can bring up the profits by the end of the phase.