What ever (you want) Next! (has it) (Next)

Member Name: clumsy1974

Product:	Next
Date:	26/08/01 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good range, larger sizes, on every highstreet

Disadvantages: Average price

I know, lame title, but from my point of view it’s totally true. Next is the king of high street fashion, and truly deserve every penny they make (in my humble opinion).

So why do I think so much of Next? Several reasons and I'll try to cover them all for you.

Size range
This is the main reason I tend to wander into Next when I am looking for something new to wear. I am not a small bloke, not huge I guess, but I'm tall and broad. Most fashionable clothes retailers (River Island being the exception) tend to view people like me (6ft 2" with a 38" waist) as lepers, fashion pariahs who would damage their skinny images. Next don’t seem to care. They have a great range that goes up to my size, both top and bottom. The fit is great and they offer the same style for us biggies as the skinny bean pole types. What's more they offer a range of footwear that I can generally squeeze my size 11/12's in to.

Overall range
You can find an entire wardrobe of styles and outfits in Next. A visit to your local branch is a must for work-wear (suits, shirts ties etc.) as they offer a great variety. I have yet to treat myself to a Next suit, but their formal shirts are great. M&S used to be the champion of the work-shirt, but recently quality and style have started to escape the giants grasp. Thankfully Next are filling the void. Their formal shirt ranges wear well, are great to iron and come in all the styles I wear (button downs, short sleeved etc.) A fantastic selection of casual clothes makes Next a one-stop shop. The range this season is great, and I could spend a fortune in there.

What makes them unusual, at this time of year anyway, is that they still offer a selection of warm weather clothes. This allows those of us who take our holiday later than June to get shorts, T-shirts and any other holiday gear right up to the day we fly off for that late summer sun. It has always been a major fault with mo
st clothes shops that they expect us to buy all our summer clothes way before the British Summer has even been mentioned on the weather forecast. When we actually do get a heatwave, in late August/early September M&S are waiting to offer us a great range of woolly jumpers, thermal socks and vests. Next seem to be trying to buck this trend.

Add to this a great range of footwear and Next is onto a winner with its product offering.

Store layout and location
Next seem to be refitting most of their stores, and the two I visit most often (Milton Keynes & Oxford) have benefited from a new look and expansion. The whole store is brightly lit, meaning there are no colour surprises when you get out in daylight. The stock is organised into fairly logical groupings and doesn’t seem to move round the shop too much (don’t you hate going to a shop and heading for the shirts only to find canned food and fizzy drinks where the shirts once were. Sorry M&S, that was another dig there). There are always plenty of changing rooms and these are quite spacious. You'll never have trouble finding a till, and staff seem abundant and helpful.

You won’t have trouble finding a Next branch. There is at least one store in most major towns. Many shopping centers have a Mens wear and kids wear store as well as a separate ladies wear branch. This might cost Next a bit more in rent, but it means that you won’t find the skimping on the range in most locations.

Price
Next is not the cheapest clothes retailer. But in the same respect they are not that expensive either. You can expect to pay £20 - £40 on a shirt (similar to good old M&S or even Topshop). Footwear can be a bit more pricey - expect to pay around £50 for a pair of all leather shoes. Overall Next is about average as far as prices goes, but you will get great quality for your money. I am still regularly wearing Next shirts and T-shirts I brought four years ago. Newer stu
ff seems to wear just as well, so there's no obvious move to cut costs at quality's expense.

Overall Next offers a great range, with a good standard of quality at a reasonable price. They are well known for their extravagant sales, and will always feature in my wardrobe. They offer home delivery, through the Next Directory (you can order in store from the latest catalogue too). You really can’t go wrong in this high street chain.

Summary: