In 1864 J Hepworth & Son, Gentleman’s Tailors is established in Leeds, England. Then in 1981 Hepworth buys the chain of Kendalls rainwear shops to develop a womenswear group of stores called NEXT. The first NEXT womenswear store opened on 12th February 1982 which grew to 71 stores by the end of July, Next for Men was launched in August and grew to 52 stores by December. Over the years, Next introduced home interiors and children’s wear. In 2013 NEXT began trades online in more than 70 countries worldwide. Our NEXT Platform draws on all our assets – stores, warehouses, delivery networks, systems, marketing, credit facilities – to create a powerful aggregation business selling hundreds of third-party clothing and home brands alongside our own NEXT merchandise. In the UK, the scale of our Online business, supported by our store network and strong relationships with partner brands, enables NEXT to offer a broad product range to satisfy consumer demand for choice.