Fashion brand Next has reported a notable increase in sales following a cyber-attack that impacted its competitor, Marks & Spencer (M&S). On Wednesday, the British retailer announced a 10.5% rise in full-price sales for its third quarter, surpassing expectations. As a result, Next has raised its full-year profit guidance for the fourth time in eight months, projecting a pre-tax profit of just over £1.1 billion by January 2026.
While UK sales have slowed compared to the “exceptional performance” earlier in the year, particularly after the cyber-attack on M&S in April, the results still exceeded expectations. Next indicated that its UK sales performance in the first half benefited from favorable weather and disruptions faced by competitors, leading to a growth of 5.4% that was stronger than anticipated.
Kate Hardcastle, a consumer expert, commented on BBC Breakfast that some of Next’s success can be attributed to the challenges faced by M&S due to the cyber-attack, which left M&S struggling to restore normal operations. The attack led to the suspension of online orders and limited stock in stores, with M&S only fully restoring availability of its fashion products by June. The incident also involved a breach where some personal customer data was compromised.
Additionally, other retailers, including Sainsbury’s, reported increased sales attributed to the impact of the M&S cyber-attack. Next, which owns several brands such as Reiss and Fatface, operates more than 800 shops in the UK and Ireland and has an online presence in over 70 countries, with 80% of its sales originating from the UK.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0g28wgjzlo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss