Next
Chain of English stores, “places for shopping, places for living,” says their slogan. In 1981, Hepworths, the inheritor of a tailoring dynasty, acquired the chain Kendalls to add women’s clothing retail spaces to it. By the following year, there were 70 Next stores. In 1984, 52 menswear shops were opened, followed by ones that stocked childrenswear and household objects. They launched an innovative concept: the mini-department stores included coffee shops, florists, and newsagents, in addition to the clothing spaces.
In 1986, J. Hepworth & Son changed its name to Next and its products were diffused widely thanks through their mail-order catalog. Since 1994, it has opened 300 retail points across 16 different countries. Each garment is created individually by an internal team of designers. Internet sales of Next products were launched in 1999, with the publication of their entire catalog, which totaled 833 pages in Spring-Summer 2002. From 2000 the “Next day delivery” service was activated which offered home delivery the following day for orders placed on the internet before 5pm. There is an archive of Next collections from 1982 to the present, held at the Department of Museums, Art and Music at Leicester County Council. It can be consulted on appointment. There are approximately 330 Next stores in Great Britain and roughly 50 more across the Channel.
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