A PREMIUM 'beauty hall' by Next is to replace the Debenhams store in The Oracle.

This is part of a new concept for Next, with the company announcing plans to launch The Beauty Hall in retail format in five of its flagship destinations.

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Next recognised the opportunity to develop an extensive premium beauty business after a successful online collaboration with Fabled by Marie Claire, which launched in October 2018.

Next then acquired Fabled in July 2019 from Ocado.

The company currently sells more than 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.

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.

As well as The Oracle, the stores will be located in Birmingham, Leicester, Silverburn, Glasgow and Croydon.

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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.”