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    Introduction: Focus Company : NEXT PLC

    Competitor Company : DEBENHAMS PLC

    Next plc is a British retailer , with its headquarters in Enderby , Leicestershire ,England. The company, which has employed some of the biggest names in thefashion world including Alessandra Ambrosio , Nomie Lenoir , Yasmin Le Bon ,Gabriel Aubry and Paul Sculfor, has over 550 stores throughout the UK and theRepublic of Ireland , and 50 franchise branches in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Next have also recently made available their online directory service to places suchas the United States and New Zealand, allowing customers in those countries topurchase next products online though no retail stores have opened up in thoseareas as of yet. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the

    FTSE 100 Index . The company was founded by Joseph Hepworth in Leeds in 1864 as a tailor underthe name of Joseph Hepworth & So. The first NEXT shops opened on 12 February1982, with the Kendall's conversion complete by the end of 1983. Based around"the total concept look," it encouraged customers to mix and match within a style,resulting in customers having both trend and buying more. The average NEXTcustomer would buy five items, as opposed to the one they had entered the shoporiginally to buy.Made chief executive in 1984, Davies then converted the 50 Hepworths stores tothe NEXT format, extending the total concept look at the same time to covermenswear. This allowed the development mini department across the entire

    footprint, selling women's and men's and clothes. This was added to by theintroduction of NEXT interiors to stores which were deemed in the "rightdemographical areas." In 1986, Davies moved the groups headquarters from Leedsto Leicester , to be closer to the main garment manufacturers. The groups namechanged to NEXT plc.In 1987, the group acquired Combined English Stores and the Grattan cataloguecompany. Extending first to introduce NEXT childrenswear, Davies then introducedthe NEXT Directory. At the same time, Davies launched the NEXT account card. InAutumn 2009, Next launched an online catalogue for the United States offeringclothing, shoes and accessories for women, men and children.

    Debenhams PLC and its Background

    Debenhams Plc is a UK dealer in service under a department store format in UK,Ireland and Denmark, and franchise store in other nations. The company wasfounded in eighteen century as a single store in London and has now grown-up toaround 160 outlets. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a part of FTSE250 Index. The company main head office is located in London. Clothing,accessories, cosmetics and house wares and health and beauty are Debenhamsmain products.

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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enderby,_Leicestershirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicestershirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Ambrosiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%A9mie_Lenoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasmin_Le_Bonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Aubryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stock_Exchangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTSE_100_Indexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hepworth_(tailor)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leedshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enderby,_Leicestershirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicestershirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Ambrosiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No%C3%A9mie_Lenoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasmin_Le_Bonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Aubryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stock_Exchangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTSE_100_Indexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hepworth_(tailor)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leedshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester
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    Debenhams is a well-built and outstanding British department store group whichwas recognized 200 years ago. Debenhams deals in a variety of commodities. Inorder to serve its customers, Debenhams has its own brand, International Brandand Designers. Its started in 1778 when William Clark established a drapers storeat West End by selling a high class fabrics, bonnets, gloves and parasols. In 1813 it

    becomes Clark and Debenhams when William Debenhams provided capital in thefirm. In 1851 the name changes again to Debenhams and Freebody when ClementFreebody invested in the firm. They acquire so many retailers, wholesalers and theyalso managed to open some of their offices internationally in Australia, Canada,China and South Africa. In 1905 it becomes the Debenhams Ltd. In 1919the mergerwas announced with Marshall & Snellgrove and in 1920 they also purchase HarveyNichols.

    Debenhams was the part of Burton group from 1985 to 1998, in this period thedesigners was established in 1993 and significant increases in the number of stores.In 2003 Debenhams was listed in London Stock Exchange which was the result of

    Demerger from the Burton Group. In 2007 they also acquired Magasin du Nord,which was the leading department store in Denmark.

    As a group we have to write a complete report about;

    1. Analyse the ratios of your company (NEXT PLC)2. Identify the (NEXT PLC )stock market flexibility over 2-5 years (shown in

    chart) and explain the main reasons for the changes in the price (i.e. identifythe main news items)

    3. Evaluate whether any sharp change in the stock market had influenced thefinancial stability of the company

    4. Compare and contrast the financial status of the company (NEXT PLC ) withone of the competitors (DEBENHAMS PLC)

    5. Compare and contrast the (NEXT PLC)stock market flexibility with one of thecompetitors (DEBENHAMS PLC)

    My Group names and their ID are given below and they have finished theirparts respectively as tasks are given.

    Mohammad Mallick 0923809

    Anastasia Krutova 1001381

    Mohammad Rizvi 0921655

    Isha Tangri 0920915

    Muhammad Waqas 0923644

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    Daily Basis Stock Exchange Graph

    Daily NEXT/d 19/10/2009 - 17/12/2010 (LON), ,

    14/12/2010, 2,019

    .,

    ,

    ,

    ,

    (NEXT PLC Nov 09 to Dec 10)

    Daily DEBENHAMS/d 19/10/2009 - 17/12/2010 ( LON), ,

    14/12/2010, 72

    .

    (DEBENHAMS PLC Nov 09 to Dec 10)

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    Compare and contrast the stock market flexibility of NEXTPLC with one DEBENHAMS PLC

    Quarterly Graphs and their stock exchange comparison:November-December 2009 and January 2010

    Source- www.reuters.co.uk

    Debenhams , FTSE , NEXT

    November 2009

    Next Plc share price and market position started from lower level and ended atquite high level. Next plc announces 18,960,000 of its 5.25% bond purchased & alsototal of 36,209,000 bonds which had been purchased for cancellation representing 12.1%.At the end of November 2009, Next plc's registered share capital consists of 197,096,687shares at 10 pence each. All ordinary shares have equal voting rights and no shares in

    Treasury. This figure can be used by shareholders to determine whether they are obliged tonotify their interest in, or a change to their interest. Next share price started from 17.95 andended at 19.76.

    Debenhams share price and market position started from lower level, went up in themiddle of month and then again went down at the end of November 2009.Debenhams were preparing their selves for another promotion-led Christmastrading period. As there were about 40% of same retailers were already confirmedthey going to do the same promotion and Debenhams Plc were one of them. Thisaction of Debenhams encourages shareholders to buy more shares and this lead tomore valuable share price and market position. And the second reason Debenhamshad announced to acquire 100% of the shares of A/S Th. Wessel & Vett. Magasin du

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    Nord (Magasin) from Magillum A/S. Debenhams share price started from .779 andended at .818.

    Comparison:

    Both companies share price started from lower level but Next Plc shares priceended at high level and on the other hand Debenhams share price ended at a bitlower than Next. Debenhams gets the higher level in the middle but Next gets thehigher level at the end of November.

    December 2009

    Next share price seems at constant in December 2009. A slightly fluctuation seems

    but not too much difference in price between started and ending of December.Next gets the higher sales in December 2009 due to Christmas and even afterChristmas they have encouraged sales promotion. Next plc's registered sharecapital consists of 197,096,687 ordinary shares of 10 pence each. Next share pricestarted from 19.76 and ended at 20.83.

    Debenhams share price started from higher level and ended with low price. Eventhough Deutsche Bank raises Debenhams price target to 120P as previously it was115P. Debenhams gets notably high sale in December due to their sales promotionand posted a 27% rise in department store sales for last week. Moreover secondreason were cold weather had impacted purchases, with sales of snow boots

    trebling, sales up 160 percent, and sales of high tog duvets up 42%. Debenhamsshare price started from .818 and ended at .675.

    Comparison:

    By comparing both companies share price, its clearly identify that Debenhamsshare price keep going at low price until end of December and on the other handNext Plc share price remains almost constant.

    January 2010

    Next share price started from high and ended at lower level in January 2010. In January 2010 another same retailers Mark & Spencer gets the higher sale than Nextand Debenhams and also comparatively high than all other competitors due to theirsales promotional strategies. Next could not succeed to get targeted business. Nextshare price started from 20.83 and ended at 19.66.

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    Debenhams share price also started from high level and ended at lower level in January 2010. Debenhams get good sale by selling their fur coats and swimsuits inthe starting days but could not maintain this until end of January 2010. Debenhamsshare price keep going towards down even more than previous month.

    Comparison:Both companies share price move towards lower level since January 2010 started.Debenhams get fluctuation in their share price at the middle of the January 2010due to rise in sales of fur coats and swim wears. But on the other hand Next shareprice constantly keep going towards lower level.

    February, March and April 2010

    Source- www.reuters.co.uk

    Debenhams , FTSE , NEXT

    February 2010

    Next share price started from high level and ended at most lower level of the yearat the end of February 2010. Next share price went to worst level. Due to fewersales of their shares Next declares in the middle of February that it has purchased120,000 shares of its ordinary shares for cancellation at 1909.8800 Pence pershare. And again after 2 days Next declared its has purchased 120,000 shares of its

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    ordinary shares for cancellation at 1940.7051 Pence per share. Furthermore after 6days Next again declared that it has today purchased 120,000 shares of its ordinaryshares for cancellation at 1851.0907 Pence per share. Next share price started from19.66 and ended at 18.75.

    Debenhams share price remains constant overall in the month of February 2010. There were a slightly fluctuation identified in Debenhams share price in February2010. Debenhams said it had seen a 76 percent surge in online sales of the 18pounds-a-pair ($28) under wearing the past week. Due to increase in online saleDebenhams did not lost much value as compare to Next.

    Comparison:

    Both companies share price started from slightly high price and ended with lowerprice. But Next share price keep moving towards down constantly and on the otherhand the share price of Debenhams has been fluctuating over the month of February 2010 and then ended at lower price.

    March 2010

    Next share price started from much lower level and ended at quite high level. Nextgets the nearly highest level of their share price in year 2010. As a result of a

    divorce settlement dated 9 March 2010 and confirmed on 15 March 2010, thebeneficial interest of Andrew Varley, Group Property Director, in the Company'sordinary shares of 10p each has reduced by 3,254 to 57,754, which represents0.03% of the Company's issued share capital. And second reasons Next Plc hadboosted their sales value, this encourage shareholder to buy Next shares. Nextshare price started from 18.75 and ended at 21.64.

    Debenhams share price also started from lower level and ended at higher level.Debenhams gets the second higher level of share price of year 2010 in February2010. Debenhams has announced in the middle of February 2010, gross transactionvalue (excluding magasin du nord) for the 26 weeks was 1.7% higher than the same

    period last year. Shares in Debenhams, which have nearly doubled over the pastyear as worries eased about its debt, were down 0.4% at 70.7% and Grosstransaction value increased 1.7%. Debenhams share price started from .628 andended at .757.

    Comparison:

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    Both companies share price started from lower price and ended at higher level.Next succeed to get their nearly second best share price of year 2010 in March2010. On the other hand Debenhams also gets the second higher level of theirshare price of year 2010 in March 2010. Both of them started from very low priceand ended with boosted their share prices.

    April 2010

    Next share price started from high level and in the middle of April 2010, Next hasgot highest level of their share price and then again move towards down. Shareprice wise April 2010 was more excellent month for Next. Even The BRC said UK retail sales rose at their fastest pace since March, but was satisfied with the figuresearlier in the timing of the Easter Holiday this year. Next share price started from21.64 and ended at 22.95.

    Debenhams share price started from high level but ended at lower level.Debenhams share price continuously going towards downside since April 2010started. UK department store Debenhams falls 1.4%, underperforming otherretailers after a forecast-beating first half profit does little to impress analysts whofocus more on what they say are disappointing current earnings. Debenhams shareprice started from .757 and ended at .718.

    Comparison:

    In April 2010, there were an enormous difference in share price of Next andDebenhams. Next share price went up since April 2010 started and Next kept thismomentum going until end of April 2010. On the other hand since April 2010 theshare price and market position of Debenhams keep going down. Next share pricegets the higher level of the year in April 2010.

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    May, June and July 2010

    Source- www.reuters.co.uk

    Debenhams , FTSE , NEXT

    May 2010

    Next share price started from high rank and ended at low price. Next could notsucceed to maintain their business in retail sector and online sales also decreased

    in May 2010 as compare to April 2010. And second reason Next has found an errorin reported diluted earnings per share figure and the related note to the financialstatement. Even though this does not affect basic earnings per share and basicearnings per share, our prime measure of performance, is correctly stated at188.5p. Next share price started from 22.95 and ended at 20.79.

    Debenhams share price also started from high rank and ended at lower prices.Debenhams business in May 2010 went down and they could not succeed tomaintain the level of their share price even they hosting visit for investors andanalysts to its Danish business Magasin du Nord.

    Comparison:Next and Debenhams share prices started from higher rank but both companiesshare price ended with lower price in stock exchange market. Next share price didnot go lower in a sudden as compare to Debenhams. Debenhams share price keepgoing down since May started but there were a fluctuation in Next share price.

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    June 2010

    Next share price remains slightly constant in June 2010 until 25 th and then wentdown in sudden. There were fluctuations in Next share price over the time period of

    June 2010. Next has announced in June 2010, their registered share capital consistsof 184,539,796 ordinary shares of 10 pence each. All of the ordinary shares haveequal voting rights and there are no shares held in Treasury. Next share pricestarted from 20.79 and ended at 20.09 in June 2010.

    Debenhams get the worst and lower share price of the year 2010 in June 2010.Morgan Stanley cuts Debenhams Plc price target to 72P from 85P. Debenhamsstarted their share price from .592 and ended at .53 in June 2010.

    Comparison:

    Both companies share price started from a bit higher price and ended at lowerprice. Next maintain their share price until 3 weeks of June 2010 then its share pricewent down. On the other hand Debenhams share price went to worst level of year2010.

    July 2010

    Next share price started from lower price and went to higher level in the middle of July 2010. Then its moved towards down at the end of July 2010. Next plcannounced that it has a purchase of 94,472 ordinary shares for cancellation price of 1963.0765 pence per share. After purchase, the company's share capital registeredconsists of 184445324 ordinary shares of 10 pence per share. The reason for go tothis transaction were lower level of share price at the started of July 2010. And atthe end of July 2010, Next announced that it has started to not irrevocable, non-discretionary program to purchase shares on its own behalf, to cancel during the

    close.

    Debenhams started their share price from the worst price of the year 2010 andended at quite better level in July 2010. They have achieved much better price levelfrom their recession period. At very beginning of July 2010, Debenhams said a fall inunderlying quarterly sales was offset by rising profit margins as it gained share in atough retail market it expected to get tougher. And then operator Debenhams isseeking to extend a portion of its existing debt through a 550 million pound forward

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    start facility. Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are coordinating thefinancing that has gone out to existing lenders and a few others that have shown aninterest in doing the deal, the source added. In addition, Debenhams said it hadbought back a total of 84.7 million pounds of debt at an aggregate discount of around 4 percent. Debenhams Plc - refinancing a new 650 million credit facility

    comprises a 250 million term loan and a 400 million revolving credit facility.Expects to continue program of net debt reduction over the coming years. Interestcost net of fees will fall from 7.0% in the current FY to circa 4.5% during the first fullyear. Debenhams has completed a refinancing of its debts, signing a new 650million pound ($997 million) agreement that will cut its interest bill. Shares inDebenhams gain 1.6% as Investec raises its earnings forecasts and repeats its"buy" rating on Britain's No.2 department store group after the firm completed arefinancing of its debts on Monday. Investec says the refinancing will reduce theweighted average cost of debt to around 4.5 percent from about 7%, resulting inearnings per share upgrades of 2% in 2011 and 4% in 2012.

    Comparison:

    Next share price started form lower price then it went to higher level then again itsmoved towards down at the end of July 2010. There were a fluctuation in Next shareprice but ended with lower price. On the other hand Debenhams share price startedfrom the lowest price of the year 2010 and ended with higher price. Itsoutstandingly notified in Debenhams graph that they have covered from their

    recession period and got higher price at the end of July 2010. While Next ended July2010 with lower price even though there were a fluctuation in their share price.

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    August, September and October 2010

    Source- www.reuters.co.uk

    Debenhams , FTSE , NEXT

    August 2010

    Next Plc market share prices started from higher value and ended at lower value inAugust 2010. At the start of August 2010, Next were following the policy of using

    surplus cash generated by the business to buy back shares. As a result of thispolicy, earnings per share went rise 6% faster than profits. In the context of ourbuyback program, we reiterate that our first use of cash is to invest in thebusiness. And in the last 10 days of August 2010 Next plc has purchased 50,000 of its ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 1970.5377 pence per share.Following the purchase, the Company's registered share capital consists of 183,639,796 ordinary shares of 10 pence each. Next share price started from 21.5and ended at 19.8.

    Debenhams market share prices also started from higher value and ended at lower

    value in August 2010. In previous month, Debenhams has had gain 1.6% raises itsearning. Thats why share price were high in August 2010. But with the passage of time Next could not maintain the share price in stock market and ended at lowerprice. Due to this, Investec had also cuts Debenhams price target to 83P from 92P.Debenhams share price started from .615 and ended at .578.

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    has also raises NEXT to hold from sell. At the end of October 2010 Next Plcsregistered capital were consists of 183,321,387 shares of 10P each. Next shareprice started from 22.16 and ended at 22.85.

    Debenhams market share prices were also going up in October 2010 since its

    started. Debenhams has got third best share price value/stock market position inthis month after January and March-April. Debenhams has also decreased their debtvalue in October 2010. The reason for third best stock exchange market positionand shares price were best sale driven by Debenhams. And Debenhams Grosstransaction value up by 9.6%, Gross margin up by 70bps and profit before tax up by20.6%. Debenhams share price started from .653 and ended at .763.

    Comparison:

    Next Plc market share price were much better than Debenhams in October 2010.Next has got second best and Debenhams has got third best stock exchangemarket position. Even Debenhams started from lower value and with the passage of time this went up but not excellent as Next Plc achieved.

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    November 2010

    Source- www.reuters.co.uk

    Debenhams , FTSE , NEXT

    November 2010

    Talking about Next, its shares price/position going down as the passage of time in

    this month. The share prices were high in October 2010 but going downwards inNovember 2010. The reason for shares price going down is that sales were up 2.2%until at the end of October but as soon as November started the sales of Next hasreduced. However Next plc announces that it has purchased a further 36,493,000of its 5.25% bond due September 2013 since the previous announcement on bondbuybacks on 5 January 2010. To date, a total of 82,202,000 of these bonds hasbeen purchased for cancellation, representing 27.4% of the initial issue. Next shareprice started from 22.85 and ended at 20.1.On the other hand Debenhams shares price/position in November 2010 was alsofluctuating. At the start of this month its going towards down but in the last 10 daysits covers the spot and goes up but ended again by going down. But the sharesprice/position of Debenhams in November 2010 is quite better than previous monthas sales increased significantly. Debenhams share price started from .763 andended at .705.

    Comparison:

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    As it is clearly identified in above given monthly graphs of both companies, thestock market position and share prices of Next is slightly high than Debenhams inNovember 2010. As Next have had better sales in October 2010.

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    Debenhams Plc Directors Report

    Principal ActivitiesDebenhams is a leading department stores group with a strong presence in keyproduct categories including womens wear, menswear, childrens wear, home andhealth and beauty. Debenhams is the second largest department store chain in theUK. Debenhams operates 167 stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Denmark,comprising 154 full department stores and 13 Desire by Debenhams stores, which isa small store concept featuring an edited product range. Debenhams also has 60international franchise stores in 23 countries. Debenhams trades overapproximately 12,250,000 sq ft of trading space and has around 29,000 employees.

    Debenhams extends its customer reach via its online store atwww.debenhams.com.

    Business Review This review has been prepared in accordance with The Companies Act 2006 whichrequires the Company to set out in this report a fair review of the business of theGroup during the financial year ended 28 August 2010, including an analysis of theposition of the Group at the end of the financial year and the trends and factorslikely to affect the future development, performance and position of the business.

    The purpose of the Business Review is to enable shareholders to assess how thedirectors have performed their duty under section 172 of The Companies Act 2006.

    The contents of this Directors Report, together with the Chairmans Statement andChief Executives Review on pages 4 to 16, the Finance Directors Review, theCorporate Responsibility Review and The Board on pages 21 to 37, RiskManagement, the Remuneration Report and the Statement of DirectorsResponsibilities on pages 45 to 59 constitute the Business Review and are thereforeincorporated into this report by reference. Any liability is restricted to the extentprescribed by the Companies Act 2006.

    Events since the Year EndSince the year end Debenhams has opened a department store in Bath.

    Additionally, the Group has disposed of the long leases on six stores and enteredinto new lease contracts for these stores. Further details of this disposal can befound in note 36 to the Financial Statements.

    Profit and Dividends The profit after tax for the financial year ending 28 August 2010 was 97.0 million(2009: 95.1 million). The directors are not recommending the payment of a finaldividend. No dividends will therefore have been paid during the year (2009: nil).

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    Major ShareholdersAs at 21 October 2010, Debenhams plc has received notification of the followingsignificant holdings of voting rights pursuant to the Disclosure and TransparencyRules: Issued Number of share capital Shareholder shares % Bestinver Gestion, S.A.155,250,436 12.1 Oz Management LP 148,222,891 11.5 Milestone Resources GroupLtd 89,183,155 6.9 Standard Life Investments Ltd 69,060,939 5.4 Schroders plc67,086,373 5.2 Artemis Investment Management Ltd 63,855,868 5.0 AXA S.A.60,803,116 4.7 Legal & General Group plc 42,075,474 3.3

    Share Capital and Control The issued share capital of the Company is shown in note 29 to the FinancialStatements on page 98 and consist of ordinary shares of 0.01 pence each. All theshares rank pari passu. The rights and obligations attaching to the Companysordinary shares, in addition to those conferred on their holders by law, are set out inthe Companys Articles of Association, a copy of which can be obtained by writing to

    the Company Secretary. The Company was authorised by shareholders at the January 2010 Annual General Meeting to purchase in the market up to 128,680,629ordinary shares. Although this authority was not utilised by the Company during thelast financial year, approval will be sought from shareholders at the forthcomingAnnual General Meeting to renew this standard authority for a further year. It is theCompanys present intention, should shares be bought back, for them to becancelled or retained in treasury pending a subsequent sale, cancellation ortransfer. The Company does not currently hold any shares in treasury. TheCompany will only buy back shares if the directors believe that it is in shareholdersbest interests and will increase earnings per share.

    Management and GovernanceDebenhams Annual Report and Accounts 2010 Changes to the Articles of Association must be approved by special resolution of the Company. New Articlesare being proposed at this years Annual General Meeting to include a provision thatwill allow the Company to continue to function in circumstances where aninsufficient number of directors are elected or re-elected at one of the Companysgeneral meetings, thereby leaving the board inquorate. Explanatory notes relatingto these changes are included in the appendix to the Notice of Meeting whichaccompanies this report. The Debenhams Retail Employee Trust 2004 holds1,413,536 ordinary shares in the Company (0.10 per cent); any voting or other

    similar decisions relating to those shares are taken by the trustees, who may takeaccount of any recommendations of the Company. There are no significantagreements to which the Company is a party which take effect, alter or terminate inthe event of change of control of the Company except that the supplier agreementswith certain major cosmetic suppliers contain termination provisions on change of control and the Credit Agreement dated 19 April 2006 (as amended bysupplemental agreements dated 28 November 2007, 3 June 2009 and 19 August

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    2010) contains mandatory prepayment as does the new 650 million Senior Facilitywhich starts in April 2011. There are no agreements providing for compensation fordirectors or employees on change of control. Details concerning the impact onshare options and share awards held by directors or employees in the event of achange of control are set out on page 55 of the Remuneration Report.

    Market Value of Properties The Group has a small number of properties for which it owns the freehold. Thedirectors are of the opinion that the market value of these properties at 28 August2010 exceeded their net book value by approximately 23 million.

    Essential ContractsWe have contractual arrangements with many organisations but no one contract isas material as to be essential to our business, with the exception of our warehouse

    operators.

    Financial InstrumentsDebenhams does not enter into financial instruments for speculative trade. Detailsof financial instruments entered into for underlying risks are set out in note 23 onpage 91.Section 3 Management and Governance 40 Debenhams Annual Report andAccounts 2010

    Disclosure of Information to AuditorsEach of the directors of the Company at the time when the Directors Report was

    approved confirms that: a) so far as the director is aware, there is no informationneeded by the Companys auditors in connection with preparing their report of which the Companys auditors are unaware; and b) s/he has taken all the steps thats/he ought to have taken as a director in order to make themselves aware of anyinformation needed by the Companys auditors in connection with preparing thereport and to establish that the Companys auditors are aware of that information.

    AuditorsPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have indicated their willingness to continue in officeand a resolution dealing with their reappointment as auditors of the Company willbe proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

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    Conclusion:

    Next, Debenhams, FTSE 100

    As it is shown above that the share price of Next has been increasing at a definitepace as compared to the share price of Debenhams. In November 2009 the shareprice of the Debenhams was a bit higher than Next Plc. As we move further fromNovember 2009 Next share price has been showing a positive result as we compareto the Debenhams share price. Especially in the mid financial year Next Plc hastaken a positive boom in the share price and has started to move ahead. In April2010 the share price of Next has shown definite positive share price and on theother hand the graph of Debenhams share price has given a negative movement.As we move further down from April the share price of the Debenhams has startedfalling down which is completely negative which proves that Debenhams has lost amajor market share in the market, on contrary Next has grasped a major marketshare onwards April 10. In June 2010 the share price has almost fallen to worst levelof Debenhams moment, as it has completely lost the market share at that and Nexthas still got a positive share price as compared to Debenhams share price.

    In the month of April-May 2010 and then October 2010 Next has reached at theirhigher level of market and even in June-July 2010 Next remains stable and on the

    other hand Debenhams market value been worst in the same period of time. Wecan say the share price, stock exchange market and market position of Next overthe specific period of time has been better as contrast to Debenhams. Even thoughthere were fluctuation seems in both companies graphs but Next has not lost theirmarket value comparatively than Debenhams.

    References http://www.reuters.com /

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    http://www.reuters.com/http://www.reuters.com/
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    http://www.next.co.uk/ http://www.debenhams.com/ http://www.londonstockexchange.com/

    Reflection Report:Our Group major chosen company is Next Plc. My group member has alreadyexplained the main reasons for the changes in price and identifies the main newsitems of Next Plc. I have given explanation about Nexts competitors (DebenhamsPlc) in the same context and have compared and contrast the stock marketflexibility with Debenhams. I have given the main news and major events of Debenhams Plc for the same period as my group member explained for her part. Ihave identified the main news and major events occurred for Debenhams. I havestated month wise price fluctuation in stock market. Furthermore I have explainedthe reasons for share price going up and going down. In this report, I have giventhe reasons for share price variation by analyzing and identifying the productivenews items. I have also given my own observation why share price and marketposition of both companies going down or moving up.

    By making this report I have learned how and why share price of companies go upor go down. By accomplishment of this report I have come to know what is thereason behind a company lose its market share. More importantly I am able toexplain what news or what event has an impact in companys share price instability.

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    http://www.next.co.uk/http://www.next.co.uk/
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    Appendixes

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