Big-brand buying blitz and online savvy drive up sales

You may think of Next as a place to buy reliable work clothes, a nice cushion or to kit out the kids - it is the UK's biggest children's clothing seller. However, it has quietly been morphing into something much bigger.

- Sarah Butler

Next's store on London's Oxford Street tells some of the story. Yes, it houses a giant children's clothing department, as well as lots of men's suits and wear. But many of the parents here appear to be waiting for teenage daughters thronging the Bath & Body Works and Gap stores upstairs.

We can expect to see more labels appear in Next stores as, over the past five years, it has snapped up brands such as Cath Kidston, FatFace and the furniture group Made. It also controls the UK rights to distribute Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works and Gap through joint ventures with their US parent groups. It is already selling these brands online.

Under its chief executive, Simon Wolfson, the company has also taken majority stakes in the UK brands Reiss and Joules, and has made smaller investments in the sofa maker Swoon, the outdoorwear brand Sealskinz and the homewares label Rockett St George.