Next Plc Marketing - Case Study Example

In 1981 Hepwrth bught the chin f Kendlls shps t estblish new Wmenswer grup f shps. This ws the birth f NEXT. NEXT pertes thrugh five divisins: NEXT Retil pertes the high street shps thrugh mre thn 330 stres cvering the UK nd Irelnd; NEXT Directry is the mil rder divisin which ls cntin the e-cmmerce pltfrm; NEXT verses pertes retil utlets in the United Sttes, si, Cntinentl Eurpe, nd the Middle Est thrugh frnchise greements; Ventur runs the finncil services divisin. ther ctivities include telecmmunictins sftwre services nd prperty mngement.

The UK retil clthing mrket is diminishing mrket. The industry is verwhelmed with cmpetitin frm cmpnies which hve invested in hi-tech mchinery leding t greter efficiency r hve plced their prductin t fctries in chep lbur cst cuntries t prduce their prducts. Clthes retilers fll int tw brd ctegries: firstly, thse selling wn-brnd clthing nd, secndly, thse selling third-prty wer. Mjr retilers such s Mrks & Spencer nd the rcdi Grup re gd exmples f the first grup, s re chin pertins such s NEXT nd Gp.

The secnd grup includes the mjr deprtment stres nd the mjrity f independent retilers in the UK. The pliticl envirnment f the NEXT plc is quite gd s the stble nd relible ntwithstnding tht Britin filed t rech the greement with sme EU plicies frm time t time. t the present n EU directives re knwn which will hve direct effect n the UK clthing retil industry in the ner future. Due t the EU membership trend cn be seen twrds stricter envirnmentl prtectin legisltin. This my hve direct r indirect effect n NEXT r his suppliers.

Ecnmic fctrsLking t the ecnmic envirnment, it is smewht tricky since n the ne hnd there is the strng sterling cmpred t the Eur. Eurlnd encurges imprts nd endevurs t hld dmestic prices t n ttrctive level. But n the ther hnd it is difficult fr the UK t be cmpetitive utside its bundries becuse f the high pund sterling exchnge rte ginst the Eur. nther issue is the flling unemplyment rte. Fr the UK ppultin this is gd news but fr cmpnies like NEXT, this hs different implictins. Fr NEXT it mens higher expenditure n wges, s well s greter difficulties in recruiting gd emplyees.

Scil fctrsSpeking f the sci-culturl future it shuld be mentined tht peple retire erlier these dys, s well s wrking shrter hurs. verge wrking hurs per week hve decresed ver the lst 20 yers. s result mny peple hve mre spre time. This mens they hve time t cmpre prices in the High Street nd the qulity f gds nd services frm retilers. But s result, they spend mre time in the shps. nther issue these dys re the "Green envirnmentl issues". Becuse peple hve mre time nd hve mple ccess t the medi vi the TV, rdi, s well s newsppers nd the Internet, the cnsumer