NEWS


Next Chairman issues statement as end of year results are announced


share buyback programme


remains suspended. We remain committed to returning capital to shareholders in the long term and will review our position later in the year when we have better visibility of our trade once our stores reopen. Our cash resources have been


carefully managed with a number of actions taken to conserve cash during the year. As a result, net debt


reduced to £610m


(2019/20: £1.1bn). We expect the shift in consumer behaviour towards online sales to continue for some time and one of our priorities during


the


The Chairman of Next, Michael Roney, has released the following statement as the company publishes


its


financial results for year ending 31 January 2021... In last year’s Full Year Results, published just as the UK went into lockdown, we stated that our sector was facing a crisis unprecedented in living memory. We also stated that our strong


balance sheet and profit margins would allow us to weather the storm. Both


statements 16) in line have


proved true. A year on, Next has delivered profit before tax of £342m (2019/20: £729m, both pre‐IFRS


with the


central guidance issued in our January 2021 Trading Statement. Despite most of our stores being closed for a significant portion


Urgent calls for changes in how we define fresh air


of 2020/21, Total1 Group sales decreased by less than 17% to £3.6bn (2019/20: £4.4bn). In April 2020, we stated our intention to suspend all capital returns to shareholders for the duration of the financial year and until the situation stabilises. Given the continuing uncertainty around when our stores will reopen, no final dividend is proposed for 2020/21 and our


As the UK emerges from lockdown, a leading ventilation specialist is accelerating calls for a clearer definition of ‘fresh air’, in order to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in our public buildings. With the closing down of many public spaces as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, focus on the air we breathe and the need to improve it has increased. As many ventilation strategies are built around the delivery of ‘fresh air’ into a building, Elta Group is highlighting the lack of clarity surrounding its definition. David Millward, Group


Product Manager at Elta Group, comments: “Simply defining ‘fresh air’ as allowing outside air to circulate inside does not go far enough, as the quality is not always sufficient, nor is it immediately controllable. This


year has been to


continue the development of our online platform. We accelerated part of our planned capital expenditure in the online business, spending £121m on warehousing and systems. The strength of the Group is built on the hard work and dedication of all Next’s people and this year has highlighted their


resilience and ability to


work together in times of crisis. I would like to thank them for their outstanding work during an extremely demanding year.


can be particularly problematic in urban areas, where high levels of pollution mean that natural ventilation,


such as


Online retailer eSpares launches customer video consultations


eSpares, the leading UK online parts store for home appliances, has


announced a new


partnership with technology provider ConferWith. The partnership will provide customers with real time advice from experts over live video as they browse online. ConferWith’s technology will allow customer service specialists to assess shoppers’ appliances and provide advice and guidance on which eSpares product is most suitable for them, just as they would in a store environment. The video platform also allows both the shop assistant and customer to jointly populate the customer’s basket, ready for checkout. Digital retail has accelerated rapidly over the past 12 months as Covid-19 restrictions forced the closure of physical shops on the high street and thousands have faced redundancy as a result.


The new partnership is seen by eSpares as an important step towards helping High Street customer service specialists who have been impacted by the pandemic to bring their expertise to online retail.


opening


a window, can bring harmful pollutants into the building.” Contractors and those tasked with delivering ventilation solutions are being urged to play their role in changing public perception, and familiarise themselves with the latest regulations. New consultation documents for Parts L and F of the Building Regulations detail a change in emphasis towards air quality, with specific guidance on monitoring IAQ in offices. There should be the means within ventilation systems to measure CO2 and other air quality indicators, which helps to ensure that the ‘fresh’ air being brought in from outside is suitably healthy.


Local house builders need land to unlock new generation of self-builders, says FMB


The ‘Help to Build’ fund announced on 23 April will help a new generation of people build their own home, but small to medium- sized (SME) house builders need access to more small sites to help make their dreams a reality, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “I welcome the ‘Help to Build’ fund as a means to diversify the housing market and reversing the decline in small to medium-sized (SME) house builders. Without more SMEs building, the Government will not achieve its target of building 300,000 new homes a year. However, the Self and Custom Build Action Plan, also announced today, must include policies that unlock the supply of small plots of land to make prospective homeowners’ dreams a reality. “With almost 1-in-2 (46%) SMEs saying that their output is hampered by a ‘lack of available and viable land’, local authorities must allocate


more small sites in their local plans for incremental development. The Government must also urgently bring forward more funding for time- poor local authority planning departments to help them make decisions more quickly on planning applications.”


6 DIY WEEK APRIL 2021


Homebase partners with Next to launch garden centres


Homebase is set to bring the best of its gardening products to a selection of Next stores. This is part of a trial across the country between the two well-loved British brands. Six Homebase garden centres will open in Next stores in Shoreham, Ipswich, Warrington, Camberley, Bristol and Sheffield tomorrow, which coincides with non-essential shops reopening. Customers can now combine shopping


for quality clothing


and homeware from Next with a variety of plants, pots and garden tools needed to spruce up or totally transform outdoor spaces from Homebase. As well as expert gardening advice available from Homebase team members in-store, customers can take advantage of personalised hints and tips via plant care app, SmartPlant. With Homebase’s entire range of plants added to the app, extra help is available just by scanning the barcode.


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