Hammerson has announced that NEXT is to launch its exciting new The Beauty Hall from NEXT premium beauty retail format in five of its flagship destinations. The aim is to create a premium retail environment for Beauty, to complement the offer NEXT already carries through its Online Beauty business.

NEXT recognised the opportunity to develop an extensive premium Beauty business after a successful online collaboration with Fabled by Marie Claire, which launched Beauty on next.co.uk in October 2018. NEXT then acquired Fabled in July 2019 from Ocado. NEXT currently sells over 200 beauty brands on next.co.uk, including Estee Lauder, Clinique, Benefit, Origins, The Ordinary, GHD, Dermalogica, Aveda, Illamasqua, Elemis, Burberry, By Terry, Rituals, L’Occitane, Bvlgari, Emporio Armani and Boss and additional premium brands including Bobbi Brown, YSL, Lancôme and Nars through its sister site Fabled.com. NEXT is also set to launch many exciting new brands during this year.

The Beauty Hall from NEXT will replace Debenhams’ beauty halls in Hammerson’s flagship destinations. Hammerson will also pursue opportunities to repurpose the other floors, as it continues to reduce the amount of department store space in its portfolio. The stores will be located at Bullring & Grand Central, Birmingham, The Oracle, Reading, Highcross, Leicester, Silverburn, Glasgow and Centrale in Croydon.

Health & Beauty has been one of the most resilient categories in retail in recent years, and is expected to return to growth when lockdown measures are eased. Physical retail is also the most popular channel for health & beauty purchases[i], as in-store advice is a crucial part of the shopper journey. Spend per head in the category is highest amongst the 25 – 44 year old age group, making it a key target sector for a number of brands.

Hammerson’s strategy to repurpose space let to department stores is already well established and in March 2020, it received planning consent to redevelop the House of Fraser store at the Oracle, Reading, with secured pre-lettings to leisure operators. The company has also announced that Ireland’s leading luxury retail store Brown Thomas is to replace the current House of Fraser unit in Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin.

David Atkins, Hammerson Chief Executive, said: “This is a 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 the right decision not only for consumers but for our communities more broadly, as it will create employment prospects and support local economies all over the country. 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.”

Simon Wolfson, NEXT’s Chief Executive 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.”