High street giant Next has announced that it will launch its Total Platform (TP) for Joules much earlier than expected, in October this year. This comes after Next acquired Joules out of administration for £34 million, saving over 1,500 jobs across its stores and head office.
According to a statement from Next, the retailer had “always intended” its total platform would deliver material cost savings to Joules.
“Following the decision to deliver much broader services to Joules, we are now planning for those savings to be significantly greater than originally anticipated,” the statement said.
However, as part of the deal, Joules will remain as an independent company with its own board and management team, being led by founder Tom Joule and focusing on product, marketing and brand development. The full benefit of these savings will not be felt until the beginning of 2024, and are unlikely to materially affect the current year’s profit of the Next Group.
Joules is currently in the process of consulting with colleagues to let them know how they will be affected and where job roles are no longer required. Next will be also be working with those affected to ensure that they are considered for any suitable vacancies at its company.
It is anticipated that those remaining with Joules will continue to work from Joules’ existing offices.
The news of the early launch of the Total Platform for Joules was welcomed by analysts.
The move is also seen as a positive step for the retail industry as a whole, as it shows that companies are willing to invest in their platforms to ensure that they can remain competitive in the current market.
Sources:
Internet Retailing. (2021, May 11). Next to relaunch Joules in October. Retrieved from https://internetretailing.net/next-joules
Sources: https://internetretailing.net/next-joules-relaunch/
