LONDON — High street retail giant Next plc has emerged as a frontrunner to purchase two struggling British footwear brands, Russell & Bromley and LK Bennett, in an increasingly challenging market.
Next, which had more than 6 billion pounds in revenue last year, and which operates physical stores and a thriving online marketplace for third-party brands, is always on the lookout for deals, be they investments, licenses, joint ventures or other retail or brand opportunities.
You May Also Like
According to media reports here, it is pursuing Russell & Bromley, a footwear and accessories brand founded in 1873, which has failed to raise adequate funds for a five-year turnaround plan.
Until recently, Russell & Bromley had high hopes for its future, installing its first creative director, Daniel Beardsworth-Shaw, last year and booking Billie Piper, the British actress and singer, for its ad campaigns. Beardsworth-Shaw has put a fresher, more colorful and contemporary spin on the brand’s classic designs, while Piper has injected a dose of youth to Russell & Bromley’s image.
In an interview with WWD in July, chief executive officer Andrew Bromley outlined the family company’s five-year transformation plan, which involved a head office move to London’s Soho, a tech upgrade, and a bigger focus on brand.
Those moves, and a challenging economic environment, weighed on the company’s balance sheet, with revenue in the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, falling 9 percent to 56.5 million pounds. Operating losses widened to 9 million pounds.
According to Companies House filings, Russell & Bromley’s sales have been shrinking and its losses widening year-after-year. The company has 37 wholly owned stores in the U.K.
Next is reported to be working with the stock clearance specialist Retail Realisation and is competing with private equity for the purchase.
A Russell & Bromley spokesperson declined to comment, while Next did not return calls at press time.
Next is also reported to be looking at LK Bennett, the footwear, clothing and accessories retailer and longtime favorite of Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales.
The British retailer, founded by Linda Bennett in 1990, has already entered administration, which is similar to Chapter 11 in the U.S. Next is said to be among a cluster of retailers and trade buyers looking to snap up the brand, which was owned by Rebecca Feng, who ran the LK Bennett franchise in China.
Administrators Alvarez & Marsal declined to comment on the progress of the sale.
Russell & Bromley and LK Bennett aren’t the only British retailers having a hard time.
On Wednesday, the global law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges published the fourth-quarter 2025 edition of its Weil European Distress Index and outlook for 2026.
The Index looks at data from more than 3,700 listed European companies across 10 sectors and the major European economies.
It showed that retail and consumer goods emerged as “the most distressed sector” in fourth-quarter 2025, reaching its highest level since the global financial crisis “with acute pressure across both liquidity and profitability.”
It said that in the U.K., weak demand and structurally higher costs continue to erode margins, with the Labour government’s latest budget measures and slew of increased taxes expected to add further pressure.
The report added that distress in the sector is expected to deepen further in 2026, “as rising input costs begin to feed through more fully,” including increases in the U.K. minimum wage and higher National Insurance contributions [similar to Social Security in the U.S.].
“Ongoing uncertainty in global supply chains, as trade settlements remain in flux, adds further downside risk into 2026,” the report said.
Next is one of the few high street giants that is bucking the trend. The company said in a trading statement last week that full-price sales in the nine weeks to Dec. 27 outstripped expectations, growing by 10.6 percent compared with last year.
The surprise spike prompted the company to increase its guidance for full-year profit before tax by 15 million pounds to 1.15 billion pounds, up 13.7 percent year-on-year. The company’s fiscal year ends on Jan. 31, with results announced in March.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, full-price sales growth at Next is forecast to be up 4.5 percent, while group profit before tax is set to reach 1.2 billion, up 4.5 percent.
Next has more than 500 stores in the U.K. and Ireland, and carries hundreds of third-party brands on its marketplace platform.
It owns brands including Cath Kidston and FatFace, and has significant partnerships or stakes in Gap UK, Victoria’s Secret UK and Reiss. The company’s Total Platform offers a full suite of online services to third-party brand partners.
