On Thursday 26 March, NEXT plc (LON:NXT) announced it had temporarily closed its Online business along with its Warehousing and Distribution Operations, having listened very carefully to colleagues.
NEXT has since implemented very extensive additional safety measures and having consulted with colleagues and our recognised union, USDAW, it will re-open Online in a very limited way from today, Tuesday 14 April 2020. Initially only categories that our customers most need will be offered, such as Childrenswear and selected small Home items. Other product ranges may be added at a later date.
Operations will start with support from colleagues who are willing and able to safely return to work. The idea is to begin selling in low volumes, so that we only need a small number of colleagues in each warehouse at any one time, helping to ensure rigorous social distancing is complied with.
To achieve these limited volumes, NEXT will only allow customers to order the number of items that it believes can be picked safely on any given day. At that point we will then stop taking orders and convert the website to ‘browse only’ until the following morning.
For further information about health and safety measures at NEXT Online warehouses, including video footage, please see our Company Statement on our Corporate website through the following link: www.nextplc.co.uk
