NEXT has formally bought British footwear retailer Russell & Bromley in a pre-pack insolvency rescue deal, although the destiny of the model’s excessive road presence stays unclear. Administrators confirmed that NEXT acquired the household-owned enterprise together with sure different property, marking the top of an period for the 145-12 months-previous retailer.
The deal comes after Russell & Bromley had labored with Interpath Advisory to safe exterior financing as a part of its 5-12 months turnaround plan, internally generally known as ‘Re Boot’. A scarcity of success in elevating the required capital in the end made a sale probably the most viable path ahead.
Founded in 1880 in Eastbourne by Elizabeth Russell and George Bromley, the model has remained household-owned, now led by fifth-technology CEO Andrew Bromley. The retailer operates 36 shops and 9 concessions throughout the UK and Ireland, using over 450 folks. In current years, the model sought to modernise its picture, appointing Daniel Beadsworth-Shaw as its first Creative Director and that includes actress and singer Billie Piper because the face of its campaigns concentrating on youthful customers.
The NEXT deal reportedly places 33 standalone shops and 9 concessions prone to closure. Administrators are exploring choices for the remaining shops.
The transfer mirrors NEXT’s technique with different excessive-road acquisitions, reminiscent of FatFace, Joules, Cath Kidston, and Seraphine, the place the main target is commonly on model and mental property relatively than bodily shops.
NEXT has continued to defy wider excessive road challenges, reporting a 5.9% rise in UK full-worth gross sales for the 9 weeks to 27 December, alongside a 38.3% surge in abroad gross sales. The firm now expects pre-tax income to rise 13.7% to £1.15 billion, with full-worth gross sales up 10.7%, demonstrating the power of its enterprise mannequin and acquisition technique.