Next operations director Michael Law to retire

Next said on Tuesday that group operations director, Michael Law, plans to retire in July after 23 years with the retailer.

Law, who will step down from the board at the annual general meeting in May, led the transformation of warehousing, logistics and systems operations over the last 10 years.

Next said it has been working on a plan for his succession since he first signalled his intention to retire over a year ago. It plans to appoint Richard Papp to the board on 14 May as an executive director and new group merchandise and operations director.

Papp has been with the company for 25 years, having joined back in 1991 as a merchandiser. He became a merchandise manager in 1996 and was promoted to Menswear product director in 2001.

In 2005, he took on a similar role at another retailer, returning to Next the following year to take up the role of group merchandise director, in which he is responsible for the company’s merchandising function, product systems, international franchise and clearance operations.

"He has worked extremely closely with our Warehousing, Logistics and Systems teams to develop our online platform and is perfectly placed to lead the continued development of the group's operations," Next said.

At 1025 GMT, the shares were flat at 4,931p.