Next to launch five standalone beauty halls in former Debenhams department stores

NEXT has signed a deal to take over five former Debenhams beauty departments to open its own beauty halls.

The beauty halls will operate from the main entrances to the stores in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leicester, Reading and Croydon, where previously Debenhams had different branded stands selling make-up, skincare and perfume.

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Next is taking over the ground floor of the Debenhams stores which have closed permanently[/caption]

Debenhams announced overnight that it would be closing the five stores permanently after failing to reach agreement with its landlord, Hammerson, over rent.

The decision is expected to result in more than 1,000 job losses – but Next said it planned to employ some of the former Debenhams staff members.

It is not yet known what will happen to the rest of the store space, as Next will only occupy the ground floor area.

Next is also in discussions to add a small number of further sites to the beauty halls project, it said.

It already offers around 200 beauty brands on its website, including Clinique, Benefit, Origins, The Ordinary, GHD, Dermalogica and Aveda.

It also owns Fabled.com, which sells more high-end lines from Bobbi Brown, YSL, Nars and others.

But it said it wants to create a “premium retail environment” for beauty products on the high street.

It said that it working with its retail teams to make sure that when the new stores open, they adhere to government social distancing guidelines.

It did not say when it planned to open the new beauty halls.

Simon Wolfson, chief executive of Next, 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 most important retail locations.”

Other retailers and food outlets are beginning to reopen their doors, including McDonald’s, which yesterday announced which 15 restaurants it will reopen next week.

Ikea is reportedly planning to reopen all 22 of its UK branches in two weeks’ time.

And KFC has reopened drive-throughs at 55 restaurants, leading to huge queues.