Next is a chain that the British have taken to their hearts. Thousands queued before dawn for its sale last month and the company has raised its profits forecast for 2006, although these are tricky times in the high street. Let me declare here that I find Next’s popularity perplexing, although I will concede that the history of this chain is undeniably intriguing.
George Davies, its creator, was ousted from the business but went on to start George at Asda and then Per Una, part of Marks & Spencer. Simon Wolfson, 38, now Next’s chief executive, is famed for his youth and a certain Harry Potter-ish intensity.
It is not, however, the personalities of bosses but merchandise that drives people through the doors of shops, and Next clothes to me are so humdrum that I have never been able to see why they sell to anyone. The chain seems to aspire merely to make the working woman look presentable, rather than a glamorous authority figure. Its style is typified by the anonymous — and near androgynous — trouser suit, as favoured by Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
But having made a new year’s resolution to discover what inspires Next’s loyal following, last week I went to two of its outlets: the branch in Moorgate in the City and the much larger Marble Arch shop. Jackie, a colleague who has the knack of finding nice stuff at Next, went with me to the Moorgate store. At the door she gave me a small lecture: “When Next gets it right, which admittedly isn’t so often nowadays, it’s spot-on.” But despite her upbeat mantra, she was as shocked as me at some of the items in the sale. There were tops so tawdry that I was stunned that any retailer could offer them, even at reduced prices.
The shoes in the sale may have included some attractive evening sandals, but so great was the disarray of the shelves that our only find was a mobile phone buried in the clutter. According to an assistant, a customer had lost a phone a week earlier. We wondered whether this was the same one and whether the shoes had been tidied in the interim. But still we persisted in our search for the “spot-on” item. A Chanel-inspired three-strand pearl necklace with a satin bow (£12.99) fitted the bill. But none of the suits could, in any way, have been described as the look of couture for less. My Moorgate experience did not revise my opinion of Next: I hoped for better things from Marble Arch.
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As I went into this store, I gave myself a reminder of my resolution to see what others see in Next. This pep talk did some good, as I found myself almost liking some stuff, such as the Fifties-style cropped jackets, including an apple-green double-breasted number (£59.99). A beige jacket (£64.99) with a matching pencil skirt (£29.99) was workwear in which you would not look part of the office furniture. Some of the sunglasses were millionaire’s girlfriend at pauper prices (starting at £9.99) and there was a pair of tan high-heeled boots (£74.99) that were more elegant French female minister than Ms Kelly.
But I was less certain about the casual clothing, including the boarding trousers (£19.99 to £29.99) — which are combat pants, only demilitarised (in case you were wondering). These trousers look insouciantly slouchy on the lean models in Next Directory (the Next catalogue, also available online). This would not be the effect on the rounder and shorter typical Next habitué. I left the store concluding that loving Next more may be one resolution that I will find hard to keep.
RETAIL IN DETAIL
Layout: pleasant, but characterless 6/10
Staff: not exactly attentive 6/10
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Changing rooms: good mirrors 7/10
Website: exemplary, both in design and ease of use 9/10
Bags: room for improvement 5/10
Overall score: nothing out of the ordinary 5/10
THE LINKS IN THE CHAIN
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Next has more than 450 UK stores and 100 franchises overseas. Pretax profits in the year to January 2005 were £422.9 million on sales of £2,958 million. Next was formed in 1982 as a division of Hepworth, a menswear group started in 1864. In 1986 the parent company changed its name to Next.