Next

For my NEXT review I’m going to review… Next. For readers of this review outside the UK, who have never heard of NEXT, Next are a big company known for clothing, with over 500 stores in the United Kingdom, they even have stores in Russia, Latvia and Saudi Arabia.
This store is one of the biggest I’ve seen, set over 4 floors in the Manchester Arndale, so big infact that it warranted having a Costa inside, but honestly they seem to pop up anywhere they can, in a small town, in a Tesco or Waterstones so it isn’t a big achievement, and probably isn’t the best place to grab a coffee, being only small and near enough on its’ own floor.
Next do have lifts to get from one floor to another, but they seem to be narrow so you might be waiting for a bit.
Most of the clothing range here is affordable, Do they have some nice things? I suppose so, but some of the stuff here is just too expensive or simply not something I would wear if you paid for it.
This store is such a major one for Next, that it is actually featured on «Next PLC’s» Wikipedia page, which is warranted as it is a huge store, but still it doesn’t stand out as good as a store, as a big Costco would or a Tesco, or even something like an Apple store, when you go in, it doesn’t seem as impressive as what it looks on paper.
The staff here are poor /​satisfactory they don’t seem to stand out very much, which although understandable in a city center location, it would be nice to see more friendly staff up and about, If they can jump around at Boost Juice about 2 minutes away, like they are doing an exercise régime, I don’t see why they can’t make some slight improvements here.
The store has entrances from Exchange Square and the Arndale.
Next just doesn’t seem to do it for me, this is a reasonable store, infact quite a large one, but some items things are just not needed, such as a coffee shop, which isn’t right in this location when they is so many in the arndale, in other stores and minutes as well as well as other types of clothing and its’ pricing in some cases.

Next in the city centre is one of their flagship stores. It is spread out over 4 levels. There is a Costa Coffee inside as well. The home department is on the ground floor, which is a very big department and the men’s department is on the second floor. Going to the store when there is the sale on that’s the best time to shop at next but expect it to be busy!

i buy a lot of my work clothes from next and always in the sale.
i hate walking around shops so i always order on line and usual pick them
up from the town branch free of charge or have them delivered for £3.95.
when you go to pick them up you usually go to customer service where
they have your order ready from you and you always get a confirmation
by email to say when you can collect or they say which day they
are going to deliever, service is always good in here and staff are helpful

Next. We all know Next. It’s on every high street and is one of the places to go if you want ‘something nice, but not too nice’. I suppose.
Speaking as a man, Next’s clothing leaves a lot to be desired. I have a feeling I’m in the minority, but I’m not in any way, shape or form interested in t-​shirts that say things like Colorada 88 on them or San Francisco 92, mainly because… it has no relevance. Most high street clothing shops that sell men’s items do this kind of thing, but no-​one seems to charge more for it than Next do, and inexplicably so.
It’s the same with the women’s section as far as I can see. The prices aren’t really justified for what you’re getting as far as I can see.
Anyway, that’s the rant about the clothing over. Now for the store itself.
It’s got a decent amount of space to move around in and, if you are into the clothes they sell, there’s lots of choice on two floors. However one thing that really bugs me about Next is the forced smiles when you walk past a member of staff. It seems that they are told in their training to smile at customers, but I hate the feeling of anything so forced that I just might growl at them the next time I walk past. Go on, pay attention the next time you walk through, I bet you’ll get ‘smiled’ at. I don’t, of course, have anything against smiling… when it’s real, but don’t smile at me when i’m potentially buying your goods. In some small, VERY small way, I believe that’s kind of prostitution…
Moving on…
Yep, moving on. Past Next. No thanks.
Try improving your men’s range, lowering your prices, making your petite and maternity sections less miserly (there are a lot of people pregnant as well as under 5’3″) and for God’s sake stop smiling at me!

The children’s department is very well stocked and the clothes are sturdy but the staff there let the place down. I visited recently to exchange a gift that my son was given and the woman who served me was extremely rude and unhelpful.

Next? Exactly, next!!! It’s just me running away from the shop. Have you seen the queue when the sales are on? No, thanks. Although, alright, I’ll tell the good news. You can find nice basic stuff for cheap. For instance a pair of nice trousers, a shirts, some underwear as well. Depends, but most of them are quite alright really, they look nice and they have a variety of sizes, so all good. Points for that. I don’t like the way the clothes and everything are arranged. When the sales are on, nothing is arranged whatsoever. I suppose is normal though. It will sound silly, but I love that no one comes to me to ask if I need any help. I loooove that. Because when I’m looking for something, I hate being asked ‘would you like some help’? I like to be left alone, to search and pick what I want, search again, try again etc etc. If I need help, I can ask myself for it. Back to next, worth giving it a go, you know. Walk around for a bit, you will find some nice stuff in there. And shopping makes us happy, so why not?

What kind of human shops in a Next?
Seriously? So boring are the clothes that appear in the store that I’m convinced that they’ve invented new shades of grey and beige.
Essentially, Next is the kind of place that is frequented by middle management. Y’know? The kind of person who creeps up on you in work and makes you jump when they say «Hi, can we just have a quick word?» before patronising you about productivity and internet use.
With that, imagine faceless garments hanging limply from hangers to depressed to remain rigid coupled with HILARIOUS ironic t-​shirts that say «I’m lazy!» or «Dad Is A Taxi Service — CUH!» and the like.
My last foray into Next was so boring that it erased a month’s worth of memories from my head, leaving me dribbling and confused.
Mercifully a close friend was passing by and wrestled me to the ground before I managed to purchase two hundred pairs of socks that had cartoon pints of lager on the side and some underpants with Homer Simpson’s face on them.
I’m eternally grateful to that brave, brave soul.

I’ve worked in Next a few times during the sale days, and to say it gets hectic would be a gross understatement on a par with saying Hitler had some issues with crisis resolution. It ends up rammed with middle-​aged women fervently snatching at bargains in a frenzy of financially-​driven lust. It’s quite frightening, actually.
Aside from that side of things, Next does very well catering for the older market, a fact I reflect in the rating I have given it. There can occasionally be clothes suitable for people below 25, but only rarely, and even then it’s only worth getting hold of them in the sale. If you survive, of course.

Normally a word shouted at a hapless actor or singer during a bad audition, Next doesn’t have such negative connotations in its behemoth incarnation just opposite Manchester’s Printworks. Okay, so most of us use it as a shortcut during cold weather to get from the Arndale to the cinema or Wagamama, but we shouldn’t. We should have a look round. Next can harbour many a hidden gem.
The only issue clothing-​wise with the place is the fact that if you spot something remotely unusual you’ll see about five other people wearing it at some point. For me this was a coat made up of different tweed fabrics all sewn together, sort of patchworky and cute. Thank goodness I didn’t buy it though, as I’ve seen several women sporting it since. For baby clothes, accessories like slippers, kids’ stuff and the like it’s excellent, but I have found its shoe and clothing collection to be slightly limited. Sales are good though, and like Pull and Bear, H&M and M&S, I can fit into a size 6 here. They’re nice and generous like that.
But the real star of the Next show is the homeware. It literally has more items for one’s home than one can shake a stick at, from furniture to bedding, curtains to cabinets, storage solutions to office knick knacks, things in which to transport a baby from A to B, you name it, they have it. And at reasonable prices too. If there’s one thing you can rely on Next for, it’s good value.
Right, I’m just about done now. Next!

Another king of all things shopping is Next, the biggest next you’ll ever see. To sum it up basically it’s really really big and theres lots of clothes in there for male, females, teenagers, kids and babas.
I’m finding it hard to write anything else about this monster, this monster is one the series of megastores that seem to surround the little square containing the wheel.
Selling contemporary and traditional dress, its cheap enough and ain’t one of the most expensive clothes stores in Manchester… er yeh.

Next is synonymous with 4am sales. 4am?! After having attempted to browse through the sale items in this Next at an ordinary time of day, I was especially glad I didn’t get out of bed at 3am to endure the process. Don’t get me wrong, there are bargains to be had, but only if you’re willing to physically fight for them.
Anyway, when the sales are not on, this Next is a pleasant store to walk through. I mainly just use it as a cut through from the Arndale Centre to Exchange Square, but have occasionally stopped to browse. I think the only things I’ve ever bought here have been earrings and socks, which are of good quality and last a lot longer than H&M’s equivalents despite costing twice the price.
I think Next has received negative to average reviews from Sarah-​Jane and Sam because it isn’t really aimed at 20-​somethings. If you’re a Next kind of person then this store will be paradise as it is THE LARGEST NEXT IN THE WORLD! Well, at least we have one shop bigger than its London branch, even if we do never shop there!

Next is a large shop located in the Arndale shopping centre in the centre of Manchester itself. It sells mens, womens and childrens clothes shoes and accessories and a selection of home goods and gift items.
It is a reasonable shop, good for workwear but the last few bits I have bought from there have been really poor quality — for example a bag my husband got frayed and went really tatty in less than 2 months, a pair of trousers I bought and washed at 30 degrees shrank and went shiny, and the shoes aren’t the best. But then again my husband has bought jeans and shirts and jackets with no problems. So I guess it is a bit hit and miss.
The staff are nice and the sales are good. All in all it’s a shop I go to with varied results.

Next’s massive Manchester store is so big it even has a home furniture department and massive façade on Corporation Street. We once looked at a rug in the furnishings section. It was way too expensive. We moved on.
The menswear section has everything you could need if you want to dress in a slightly bland way. However, for the staples of socks, boxer shorts and belts Next is my go-​to shop and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Slightly too expensive, but their clothes won’t fall apart in the way that my girlfriend’s clothes from Primark do.
They’re reasonable on returns too. When I wanted to change a belt that I’d bought because it was too big the whole thing took less than two minutes.

Remember that scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden makes a frantic speech about advertising, consumerism and branding?
Well, whenever I walk past Next’s flagship store in central Manchester I imagine him ranting and chuckle out loud. It’s not that Next is worse than other global brands, it’s that this gigantic shop aims to sell everything idyllic couples and families could need from beds, comforters and lamps to dining tables, chairs, sofas and rugs. The majority of it looks bland and forgettable but the fact it’s in neutral colours and restrained patterns means it probably flies out of the store.
For those desperate to buy into the whole Next brand /​lifestyle, there’s also two floors devoted to casual, smart and evening womenswear, menswear and childrenswear. If I was the kind of girl that looked at catalogues and imagined buying a matching dress and kitchenware, I’d probably enjoy shopping here. As it is, I find it a soul-​less and ungratifying experience.
To paraphrase Tyler: «I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say… let the chips fall where they may.»

As a big fan of Next I absolutely LOVE this store! It is huge and has all the latest ranges available in all the sizes. Everything from the Directory is available and more. The Homewares section on the lower ground floor is fantastic and they have a wide range of furniture on display for you to look at and have a sit on before buying! The clothes from Next are such good quality and are built to last. This goes for the children’s clothes as well as the men and women’s. I buy all my daughter’s clothes in here, especially trousers, because all the little girl’s trousers have adjustable elasticated waists. The Next Sales are a fantastic opportunity to grab yourself a bargain at half the usual price — well worth a trip into Manchester for!

This store is so big! Its literally amazing how big it is. I have been here a few times and have always been impressed with the amount of clothes they have! they always have all the ranges, and are up to the minute. i buy almost all of my daughters clothes at next and i love the quality of the clothes. i also buy lots for my home from the home section, i have recently bought all new items for my kitchen from here, and they are all fab! i am very impressed. all the staff are very helpful and it is located in the arndale very near to everything else! perfect.

I love Next! The store in the Arndale is the biggest Next in the country. It’s range of mens, womens and childrens clothes is huge. There is also a huge home department as well as perfumes.
I have always found the staff to be very helpful and polite and they also give a 28 days refund on any items that are unsuitable or faulty.
The styling of the clothes is excellent and while they are not the cheapest they are of very good quality and the cut and fit is superb. You get what you pay for!

Unfortunately this is an excruciatingly small premises to host a Next store and as such any visit appears to be disappointing. There’s not really enough room to browse and because of size issues you don’t get the full compliment of their ranges in stock. The displays seem a bit overbearing and it never feels worth going in there especially when you have a buggy with you. However, the staff are polite and helpful and teh store is always neat, tidy and well presented.

If bland and badly made clothes are your thing, look no further than Next to satisfy all your needs. It’s the world’s largest Next store and really is something of a behemoth in Manchester’s shopping scene.
Expect to find the full ‘range’ of greys, pastels and other monotone arrangements — decent when looking for some sensible clothes, but otherwise very dull stuff.
It gets some points for being clean, tidy and generally well designed, with plenty of space to browse even when it’s busy.
Prices are not too expensive but not cheap either. For the kind of quality you’re getting you could arguably do better, with plenty of other competing outlets directly round the corner.

This store is humongous!!! Its spread over 3 floors and sells mens, womens and kids clothing as well as shoes, accessories and a good selection of homeware. They sell nice gifts too, and have their own perfume range. Its a good place to get good quality casual clothes like jeans. Its also a good place to get work clothes from if you have a job which requires you to look smart. The prices are reasonable for the quality. I paid £30.00 for a pair of jeans and they lasted me over 3 years! And i lived in them!