Next says 'no evidence' that Covid-19 spread in its stores      

Next has been one of the few UK or Irish retailers to have weathered the Covid-19 crisis relatively successfully. File picture: Steve Parsons

Next has said there is no evidence that selling clothes helps spread the Covid-19 disease, as the fashion retailer pushes back against the threat that its stores in the UK could be shut under any new UK-wide lockdown.          

Next, which has 550 stores in the UK and Ireland and a further 200 outlets on the continent and Asia, makes no mention of the closure of its stores in the Republic but warns that the "biggest single unknown" is whether stores in England, Scotland, and the North will also shut in the run-up to Christmas after Wales decided to close its non-essential retailing. 

"We have found no evidence of the virus being transmitted in our stores; nor are we aware of any studies that suggest clothing and homeware retail presents a significant risk of infection," it said. 

Next has been one of the few UK or Irish retailers to have weathered the Covid-19 crisis relatively successfully.  

Its London-listed shares have clawed back much of their losses since the onset of the economic crisis in March, and have only lost 8% of their value from this time last year.  

In its latest update, Next projected it will generate a pre-tax of £365m (€403m) this year, up from an earlier forecast, under its "central scenario".

That scenario assumes there will be some further local lockdowns with footfall affected as "some customers begin to avoid shops as they get busier in the run-up to Christmas". 

Under its worst-case scenario, which involves two weeks of store shutdowns in England, Scotland, and the North in the coming weeks, it sees a "significant reduction in peak Christmas footfall".  

At its warehouses servicing its online business in the run-up to Christmas, it sees some disruption as staff self-isolate from the disease. Under its worst-case scenario, the warehouses face "significant capacity constraints".     

It said that under all outcomes it has enough stock to meet demand.