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It looks as though we may be set for a challenging year, with economic and cyclical factors potentially working against us...

There's going to be a consumer slowdown this year, but we're not going as far as predicting a recession.

Marina Garments is a supplier to NEXT, who in turn sourced fabric from the Aswad Unit One Mill. As a result NEXT has had no direct contact with the Aswad mill.

The cause of the fire at Aswad, which is at a different location to Marina Garments in Bangladesh, is under investigation by the local authorities and is currently unknown.

Prior to and since engaging Marina Garments a year ago, NEXT audited the factory, using its own in-house audit teams and no major issues have been found. However, because Aswad is a third-party fabric supplier to Marina Garments, it had not been inspected by NEXT.

As the cause of the fire is unknown, it is not clear whether any audit would have prevented this tragedy. Once the cause is known, as routine NEXT will review its procedures, including the extent to which it needs to look further down the supply chain - particularly in high risk areas such as Bangladesh.

NEXT is deeply saddened by events and its immediate thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones or have been hurt. NEXT is already in contact with the other major UK retailers involved, to decide how best to coordinate immediate help for victims and their families. NEXT is awaiting further information from the scene and therefore cannot comment further at this time.