Here is an absurdly mean-minded way to view Next’s advance towards annual profits of £1bn this financial year: since the retailer achieved almost half a billion (£498m) as long ago as 2008, merely doubling over 17 years is not otherworldly. The annual compound rate of improvement works out at only 4%.
But that perspective would plainly be ridiculous for at least two reasons. First, Next, like everyone else, had to deal with the long recession after the financial crash and then the pandemic; the retailing landscape was littered with the bodies of those who didn’t make it – BHS, Debenhams and more. Or look at the contrast with Marks & Spencer, which hit the £1bn mark in 2008 and has never seen it again. Even with M&S in recovery mode, Next is the bigger company by far these days in terms of stock market value – £13bn plays £7.5bn.
