Posh wellies seller Joules has found a new lease of life on the stock market following news of a potential investment in the business by retail giant Next.
Joules has been struggling this year, with disappointing sales, supply chain problems and rising costs. Once a shining star in the retail sector, Joules saw its share price collapse after a string of profit warnings.
“Next doesn’t typically buy companies outright so it seems unlikely that an initial investment in Joules will lead to a full takeover. Instead, expect to see it become an influential shareholder and for more of Joules’ products to appear on Next’s website,” said AJ Bell’s Russ Mould.
“Next has a system called Total Platform, which enables third party retailers to grow their sales without large capital costs, operational risks or time developing sophisticated infrastructure. This platform is already used by the likes Gap UK, Reiss and Victoria’s Secret, with Next having also acquired equity stakes in these businesses.
“In essence, Next can offer more products on its website which makes it more attractive to customers, and it also earns a fee for handling the e-commerce needs of third parties.”
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