Next to open beauty stores in former Debenhams stores

Next has announced that it will be opening new dedicated beauty businesses in five former Debenhams stores.

The Beauty Hall from NEXT will take over the five Debenhams stores located in Hammerson-owned shopping centres, whose closures were revealed last night.

Next already sells around 200 beauty brands on its website from the likes of Estee Lauder, Clinique, Benefit, Origins, The Ordinary, GHD, Dermalogica, Aveda, Illamasqua, Elemis, Burberry, By Terry, Rituals, L’Occitane, Bvlgari, Emporio Armani and Boss.

It also owned Fabled.com, a premium beauty business established by media brand Marie Claire and Ocado, which it acquired in an £8m deal in May last year. Fabled has a dedicated website at www.fabled.com offering brands such as Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Nars and Tom Ford.

Next is now looking for experienced staff to work in the stores, which will be located at Bullring, Birmingham, The Oracle, Reading, Highcross, Leicester, Sliverburn, Glasgow and Centrale in Croydon. It is possible therefore that some of the former Debenhams staff will be employed in the new venture.

Next CEO Lord Simon Wolfson said: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with existing and new beauty brand partners to create a new force in beauty retailing - bringing our online business to life through premium store environments in some of the UK’s most important retail locations.”

David Atkins, Hammerson’s chief executive said: “This is a really challenging time for all of us, so it’s really encouraging to see strong, innovative brands like Next work with us to plan for the future. This is another example of how we are repurposing department store space and improving the shopping experience for consumers. The Beauty Hall from Next is a great concept and it’s a real vote of confidence in our flagship destinations that Next has chosen these locations to launch its new offer.”

Next's move follows that of Harrods which is due to open dedicated beauty halls outside of London this year. H Beauty's first store will be based in Lakeside in Essex, followed by another store in Centre:mk, Milton Keynes.