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Style and beauty

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Original poster

Anyone else not surprised by this?

67 replies

KitKat1985 · 04/01/2017 12:27

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38497998

For those who don't want to click the link, basically it's a BBC article stating that Next has reported disappointing profits recently. I'm not surprised. I really used to like their clothes 5-10 years ago, but recently I've found it all really drab and uninspiring. I'm not really sure who their target market even is anymore, whereas previously I would have thought I would have been a target customer for them (professional in their 30's).

OP posts:

TanteJeanne · 04/01/2017 16:45

Delivery service brilliant but most of the clothes are dire. I enjoy looking through the catalogue to laugh at the beautiful young slim models wearing stuff yer granny wouldn't touch....
Some kids clothes are great. Get most school uniform there because I have one slim fit and one plus fit child.... Hate how shops don't stock anything for older children- you can only get via Directory. V annoying.
Have had great jeans for myself in the past - and it's a good place for boots etc if you've got size 8 feet...

Lucked · 04/01/2017 16:49

I find them supremely convenient with next day click and collect and if I return click and collect items I don't need a receipt they just scan the item and they know who I am. Also never had any quibble with a return.

However they have had loads of prints over the last few years which have looked really cheap, very like m&co and matalan. The jeans I have bought have all got really baggy and in general material is thinner and of poorer quality.

100milesanhour · 04/01/2017 16:59

I buy the odd thing for my son in the kids dept but I havnt bought anything for myself in the last 15 years. They used to have a great range of jeans but the stuff isn't great anymore.

BagelGoesWalking · 04/01/2017 17:18

10+ years ago I would buy things for my children, but by no means all.
Probably the only thing I used to buy for myself was jeans, but now I buy £14 straight jeans from Sainsbury's and much prefer the fit. I always seemed to be between sizes at Next.

Just remembered, bought one shirt/blouse there in 2015 which I have since used for an interview and a funeral!

paulapantsdown · 04/01/2017 17:26

agree with everyone here
what is wrong with these retailers? M&S suffering the same problems, but they never seem to take on board anything the customers MUST be telling them

Original poster

KitKat1985 · 04/01/2017 17:30

I was watching BBC news earlier and they featured this story, and apparently Next have said they will probably raise their prices to try and make up the losses. I'm no retail mogul, but I would have thought if you have large swathes of customers saying the clothes are over-priced and drab, making them more over-priced probably isn't going to help.

OP posts:

Hellofromtheotherside16 · 04/01/2017 17:59

I used to buy from there but haven't for some time. I find the casual clothes very frumpy and shapeless. Having said that I bought a pair of those shape and lift jeans and they are very flattering.

HoHumming · 04/01/2017 18:12

Their homewear prices are on par with Habitat but minus the contemporary feel.

I can't remember the last time I bought any clothing for myself there. I used buy baby clothes there and liked them but the toddler and kid's clothes are drab in comparison and they look like they were bought in Next which is not a good thing in my opinion.

paulapantsdown · 04/01/2017 18:12

Yes OP, that's what I mean! Have they ever actually talked to any customers? Lots of highly paid marketing/product managers etc, and they actually think that charging more for shite no one wants to buy cheaper is the answer!

MadisonMontgomery · 04/01/2017 18:17

Their logistics are amazing but I find all their clothes poorly cut and just wrong somehow. Its disappointing as they have a large petite section.

hollyisalovelyname · 04/01/2017 18:19

At least you are allowed to get a catalogue.
Irish customers are not allowed a catalogue.
I think Next clothes are, sadly, cheap and nasty.
Their shoes, plastic from China. Yuck.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/01/2017 18:19

Twelve years ago I used to buy all my workwear except shirts from them. So two new suits twice a year with skirts and trousers. Then I had to return a damaged item and they were bloody atrocious and refused.

I haven't darkened their door since so they have lost approx £500 per year in sales from me. So that's £6000 and assuming there are more like me that quickly adds up.

Plus the trouser suit has died a death and that was a Next staple.

twinklefoot · 04/01/2017 18:21

I had a gift voucher for Christmas and all I could find that I liked were some socks. So I spend £30 on them!!

madgingermunchkin · 04/01/2017 18:23

I've worked for them, and hated uniform, I really struggled to find anything I wanted to wear. It's crap and none of it fit me.

And the "first time surfers" won't help either. We used to get hassled trying to hit targets, which meant we were pushed to go round and ask customers if they wanted to sign up. Most ended up being asked 4-5 times and were visibly irritated by the time they got to check out (if they made it that far.). Management didn't care though, they have their targets to hit, and they get bonus if they do, so they hassle us to hassle customers.
I've been told by several different people that being hassled like that is the reason they no longer shop there, and I don't blame them. I'll buy the occasional thing on line, but am I hell putting a foot in one of their shops.

Namechangeemergency · 04/01/2017 18:23

I have never been a fan but they did used to be known for quality. It was where you went to get decent work clothes. Boring but worth the money.

They use horrible fabrics and have bizarre designs.
I used to buy shoes and boots in the sale because you could get nice stuff for a decent price.

One year I ordered five pairs in my size and I couldn't get my foot into any of them. They were not just a bit tight, they were about three sizes smaller than they should have been (but still marked as a size 5).

I don't even bother popping in during the sale now. Its pointless. They seem to only sell really dull clothing or clothes made out of lining fabric with huge plastic jewels falling off them.

OhStuffingBalls · 04/01/2017 18:27

They pitch their prices too high for the quality. Its as simple as that.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/01/2017 18:28

Supermarket clothes at high street prices.

Actually I think that's running supermarket clothes down a bit.

I find their homewares very dated.

confusedandemployed · 04/01/2017 18:31

Ugh. Rubbish quality, smock tops, high necklines, boring fabrics and designs.

I don't think I've bought anything in next for well over 5 years, and then it was a pair of jeans. As a PP said, busty hourglass just ain't on their radar.

MadHattersWineParty · 04/01/2017 18:46

I used to have to flog the Next directory and the way the very 'successful' people did it was approach customers saying would you like to win a car or a holiday, take their details then keep the clipboard just so that they didn't see the fee bit.

I detested having to try and get people to sign up (and was honest about the ££) but we all had to, you got an hour holiday or a £5 gift voucher per five people you snared and the managers were so bloody pushy with the staff underneath them but I never saw them do it themselves!

Anyway that was off-topic but I hated working for that bloody shop!

BunnyDog · 04/01/2017 19:01

I used to get the best clothes for work there, I bought one of the best suits I have ever had from Next, lasted and looked great for years.

Last few years.... shapeless, badly made, the stuff just doesn't fit. I had 2 tops from there that didn't hang right, i realised after a while that one side was longer than the other! You are better off going to Primark at least its half the price.

NotLadyPrickshit · 04/01/2017 19:01

Tante the reason you can't get older kids (13+) in store is because they want you to take them into the adults section because

A) 13yo's & over can usually get into an adults size 6/8

B) adults clothes are more expensive

C) there's VAT on adults clothes which can be reclaimed

TanteJeanne · 04/01/2017 19:33

Thanks NotLady - it's obviously a strategy that they hope benefits their business... certainly doesn't benefit the customer. (I took my teenage son to the men's section of H&M instead so it backfired)

NotLadyPrickshit · 04/01/2017 19:40

My 16 & 15yo wouldn't be caught dead in anything from next past the age of 10 Tante it's new look, H&M and river island these days

AddToBasket · 04/01/2017 20:04

I have no design experience whatsoever but I cannot understand how and why Next and M&S get it so wrong.

Basics. Basics. Basics. I'll pay more if I think it will wash well and keep it's shape. I know that isn't the case with Next stuff.

whirlygirly · 04/01/2017 20:16

I said just this to dp at the weekend. They should be a high street version of hush. Simple, quality basics in neutral colours.

A slight nod to fashion but none of those hideously Garish floral prints they churn out in puce polyester every spring.

I buy a lot for the ds' from there but always the neutral items and usually in the sale. Generally I find them decent quality - better than the adults clothes.

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