Gap UK completes migration to Next Total Platform, plans to open five new shop-in-shops

Gap has announced that its online UK business has completed its migration to Next Total Platform.

The US fashion brand said it will continue to trade under its standard UK website, but consumers will benefit from Next’s “strong operational capabilities and excellent customer service offering”.

This includes a click-and-collect service, free returns to 450 Next stores in the UK, next-day home delivery, and free next-day delivery to Next or Gap stores.

Gap and Next first announced their joint venture in September 2021, as the former looked to boost its presence across the pond.

Adrienne Gernand, Gap’s managing director of international, global licensing and wholesale, said in a statement: “We are excited to deepen our relationship with Next to better serve our customers in the UK and Ireland.”

New shop-in-shops

In addition to the website, the companies announced the opening of five new Gap-branded shop-in-shops set to open in the coming months, including one in Lakeside in August, another in Birmingham mid-September, and a third in Manchester towards the end of 2022.

In March, Gap opened its first Gap-branded shop-in-shop in Next’s largest West End store on London’s Oxford Street back in March.

Gernand added: “The launch of Gap online through Next Total Platform coupled with our plan to grow the business through Next retail locations will unlock great potential to deliver the best possible omni-channel service and experience in order to meet our customers’ needs and build loyalty in the market.”

Next first announced its plans to become an online host for other brands in 2020, when CEO Simon Wolfson revealed the company had been “quietly” building Next Total Platform over the past year.

The platform runs other fashion brands’ websites and back-end operations.