George Davies transformed the old Hepworth and Kendall businesses into Next, opening the first Next stores in February 1982 and rapidly converting hundreds of existing outlets into a coordinated womenswear, menswear, interiors, and catalogue empire. The expansion was spectacular but dangerously aggressive. By 1988, after acquisitions including Combined English Stores and the Grattan catalogue company, Next had expanded beyond what many of its shops could support: some locations were reportedly not generating enough revenue even to cover their rent. The company was described as having 'over-expanded suicidally.' Davies, who had become chief executive in 1984, was dismissed amid accusations from chairman Sir David Jones that his ego and expansionist management had brought the retailer close to bankruptcy. Next's share price plunged to 7p, turning the architect of its explosive growth into the emblem of a retail empire's near-fatal excess. The crisis forced asset sales, including 433 British jewellery stores sold to the Ratners Group in October 1988 for US$232 million, and permanently established the dangers of rapid high-street expansion as a recurring fault line in British fashion retail.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
George Davies Takes Next to the Edge of Bankruptcy—and Is Fired as Its Share Price Collapses
Next plc / George Davies / 1980s
George Davies transformed the old Hepworth and Kendall businesses into Next, opening the first Next stores in February 1982 and rapidly converting hundreds of existing outlets into a coordinated womenswear, menswear, interiors, and catalogue empire. The expansion was spectacular but dangerously aggressive. By 1988, after acquisitions including Combined English Stores and the Grattan catalogue company, Next had expanded beyond what many of its shops could support: some locations were reportedly not generating enough revenue even to cover their rent. The company was described as having 'over-expanded suicidally.' Davies, who had become chief executive in 1984, was dismissed amid accusations from chairman Sir David Jones that his ego and expansionist management had brought the retailer close to bankruptcy. Next's share price plunged to 7p, turning the architect of its explosive growth into the emblem of a retail empire's near-fatal excess. The crisis forced asset sales, including 433 British jewellery stores sold to the Ratners Group in October 1988 for US$232 million, and permanently established the dangers of rapid high-street expansion as a recurring fault line in British fashion retail.
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