Next Company: Red Sea disturbances will not prompt us to change manufacturing centers

British clothing retailer Next confirmed on Thursday that the disruption of shipments in the Red Sea will not prompt the company to consider changing the manufacturing centers for its products.

According to Reuters, Next, which manufactures the majority of its products in Asia, warned in January that sales growth was likely to be modest if shipments through the Suez Canal continued to be unable to arrive through 2024 as a result of attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group.

The company indicated on Thursday that despite the increase in arrival time by about 7 to 10 days with the redirection of ships around the Cape of Good Hope to the south of the African continent, it does not expect a tangible financial impact.

“The motivation behind moving manufacturing operations to a specific location is the capabilities and value we get from suppliers for what we spend,” CEO Simon Wolfson said in a conference on the results of the year.

He added, “It would be a mistake to transfer operations for geopolitical reasons.”

Wolfson noted that adding 7 to 10 days to the travel time “does not determine the success or failure of the manufacturing base, and is not a reason not to go to the Far East. All you have to do is advance the date of sending the request by about seven to ten days.”

He revealed that Next had large manufacturing bases in Portugal and North Africa before its capabilities diminished over the past fifteen years.