NEXT chairman David Jones yesterday announced his retirement from the clothing and homeware chain that he took from the brink of bankruptcy into the FTSE 100 Index.
Mr Jones, who recently published a book on his career in retail while battling Parkinson's disease, will step down in May after nearly 20 years with the group.
The 62-year-old will be replaced by John Barton, who has been deputy chairman of Next for more than a year and is a former chief executive of insurance broker JIB Group.
Mr Jones built his early reputation at the Grattan home shopping business, eliminating its losses and masterminding a £330m merger with Next in 1986.
Installed as chief executive of Next two years later, Mr Jones reorganised its finances and oversaw an expansion that saw the value of the company snowball from £25m to £4bn in 14 years.
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