Research Paper on:
United Kingdom Retailer Next Plc.

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
aggressive strategies and bucking the trends seen in the industry. A closer look at the company, including the environment it operates in, the resources it has, stakeholder expectations and the  organisational purpose will show how the past strategies have lead to the current position, and give indication regarding the possible future strategies that could be adopted. To consider this we  will first look at the background of the company. This paper will concentrate of the retail divisions. Background Next as a brand is seen as relatively new, however  the background to the company is over a century. Next was founded in 1981, originating as a chain of stores bought by Leeds gentlemans tailors Gentlemans Tailors which had been  in operation since 1864 (Next {Plc). When they bought Kendalls rainwear shops, there was a specific target of developing a chain of womens clothes shops (Next Plc). The first of  these opened the following year on the 12th of February 1982, by July 1982 there were 70 shops (Next Plc). The company  continued to expand rapidly, going into menswear in 1984. This growth was also fast, with 52 mens shops operating by December 1984 as well as the opening of a "mini-department  store" with a mens department, womens department, shoe section and a caf? (Next Plc). In 1985 home furnishings became the targeted growth area, other companies, such as Marks and Spencer  had expanded successfully into this area, and the thriving economy of the time also meant that the disposable income spent on home wares was increasing. The aggressive growth continued  fuelled by acquisition, gaining Grattan Plc, in 1986, adding a mail order company to the portfolio (Next Plc). It was also this year that the Name Next was formally adopted