NEXT clothes quality not what it once was
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed a deterioration in the quality of clothes on sale in some of the main high street stores? I used to shop regularly at NEXT, but find that the clothes are now often of such poor quality whilst at high prices, that I am no longer doing so.
'Made in China' seems to be on most of the labels and, whilst I having nothing against goods made in China, the 'feel' of the goods tends to indicate quality on the lower end. NEXT are selling short-sleeved shirts 'from' around 25.00 and more, and they are of such poor quality that I am loathe to part with my money. In fact, I often go around NEXT stores muttering to myself "What a load of rubbish all this is". Am I going mad? Or is this a common reaction?
NEXT clothes relying on past good reputation?
It seems to me that NEXT are relying on their past good reputation and the familiarity with their brand to sell rubbish goods at higher quality prices. I can go to Tesco and buy a shirt of the same, if not better, quality than in NEXT for around 10.00 and often less. Also with NEXT, I buy a pair of jeans or trousers for work, and find that the fabric in the seat quickly becomes very thin and holes appear.
I went into Monsoon yesterday to look at the so-called 'sale' in the men's section. Yet again, 'Made in China' seemed to be the norm, and even at half-price, the shirts on offer seemed to me to be of a very poor quality. Is it the same with women's clothes I wonder? Are we being "ripped-off" by retail stores that we once trusted? Or am I just getting old (at 39) and I need to start doing more shopping in Marks and Spencer and/or the supermarkets?
By: Alaneroberts
Comments from visitors
It's evident that Zin has nothing better to do than complain about people voicing their points of view. Are we to conclude that Zin is content to pay high prices for poor quality clothing? If we continue to pay high prices for poor quality clothing then we will be offered more of the same. It's getting more and more difficult to buy quality anywhere at any price; our choices are shrinking all the time. This does have an effect on our lives and to allow ourselves to be 'mugged' in this way makes fools of us all.
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Zin, if you are a Next employee, they are paying you far too much. It's not a question about just complaining, it is fact. Next sell poor quality clothing relative to what they used to sell quite a few years ago now. People have noticed the change in quality. They have also noticed that the prices have remained relatively high. Spending hard-earned money on poor quality clothing that soon has to be thrown away is an affect upon people's lives. Your comment 'Don't like it, don't shop there' is quite correct, although it would be more accurate to say 'Don't like poor quality clothing? Then don't shop at Next!'
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miserablemoaninggit - 20-Jan-12 09:44
I just think that you are a frickin twat. Typical mardy fool, nothing else better to complain about. Don't like it, don't shop there. Moan about something more productive that actually affects your life.
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Copernicus, well said. I completely agree with your comments. To sum up: Next sell crap! And, they sell crap at high prices. As simple as that.
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miserablemoaninggit - 18-Jan-12 23:22
I believe Next lost their credibility with their first range of 'fashion' after George Davies 'left' the company. Since then their designs have been chasing trends, not making them. Regarding quality, I also recall plain cotton tee shirts (men's in my case) being of exceptional quality and fit, well worth the price at the time - they were made in Mauritius and I still have a couple that are wearable for doing work and gardening even after over two decades of wear and a massive amount of washes. More than you can say for the current quality - not only Next but all the High Street retailers. I have no idea how much design input came directly from Mr Davies and we know that 'George at Asda' was never meant to be cutting edge, but something changed for the worse when he was sacked from the board at Next.
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Hi me and my mum also went round next stating what a lot of crap there clothes are, i prefer to shop in newlook next will be next for administrators if they dont improve !!
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I thought that I had moths as my Next clothes developed holes in them, especially the cotton t-shirts but after reading this article I now realise it's just the poor quality of their clothes. I agree that they charge a premium for very poor quality material. I shall reconsider where I shop in the future.
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Hi can not agree more with next clothes being poor quality.I have shopped there for years and have always been happy but this last year have took so many things back because they have just feel apart.I even brought 2 school skirts same make same colour one is over a inch longer in length than the other.I would except that from primark not next.Had a pair of earrings feel to bits after only being worn twice.if they don't get their act together soon they will lose a lot of customers that's if they have not already
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I really agree with you, but I find even M&S to be poor quality now the clothes are made abroad. I loved Laura Ashley and Monsoon which used to be really excellent quality, and the clothes looked more expensive than they actually were, but now ,since they have been taken over by a Malaysian company, the quality has progressively deteriorated , but the prices are still high! I hate all the garish patterns, so that it is virtually impossible to mix and match. I am buying less and less now, as I really prefer more timeless styles and colours in good quality fabrics. We should organise a campaign to bring back the quality , as you 're not the only one who feels they are being ripped off!
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Right you are... finding holes after the 1st wash in All Saints and Next clothes made me think. How strange it is? What is good quality in Uk anyway? Funny, but as you said, never found the same gore with cheaper clothes from Asda for ex. I haven't got many to start with but have a few.
USA clothes are the best. Never had problems with them:)
USA clothes are the best. Never had problems with them:)
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You are absolutely right! The quality of Next clothes in the last year has deteriorated massively. A couple of colleagues and I used to often buy clothes esp work suits but after being worn only about five times, they bobble and in one case, within three months, the seams on the inside were wearing apart. The quality is terrible now and this is not the only website to comment on it. Worst of all, just to rub salt, Next are treating us like we are morons. Did they really think we would not notice?
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christian@gmail.com - 5-Jul-11 10:13
Yes you are quite right - Next used to be classy - used to buy all my work clothes from them. Went round yesterday - I was muttering to be self as well. Just awful. Sack the buyers I say.
What retailers dont realise that if you are in work you can be better off in the recession. My mortgage has halved. I have a larger disposable income. I will not be spending it on tat though.
What retailers dont realise that if you are in work you can be better off in the recession. My mortgage has halved. I have a larger disposable income. I will not be spending it on tat though.
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I never buy high street tat if I can help it - probably because I'm a bit older than some readers on here and find that the styles are mainly aimed at the young.. Usually, I buy my clothes from craft fairs, which sell custom made one off pieces - or I just keep and recycle classic clothes I've had for years that are still excellent quality and don't date. Or it's department store lines - like Jaegar, Country Casuals, Whistles etc. For casual wear I wear Fat Face, which is always good. I wouldn't dream of shopping in Primark, TK Maxx or any of these cheapo 'made in China' or Indian sweatshop high street stores; nor would I buy anything to wear from a supermarket - except perhaps a pair of socks or tights. As far as I'm concerned, these shops are the equivalent of the 99p stores you buy homeware and food items from.
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It's the same everywhere, not just Next. The High Street obviously all order from the same factories in Asia - styles, colours, identical in every shop, rack upon rack of them, so no individuality. But it is the astoundingly bad fabric and manufacturing which is so disheartening - nasty woolly cottons and that clingy viscose stuff which bobbles after 2 wearings, T-shirts which massively shrink or mysteriously grow to about 2 metres wide. Disposable clothing - good for one wear then bin it. Great news for the planet. Charity shops are full of this cheap rubbish, so is Ebay, sold as "nearly new".
Next has long had a talent for selling musty smelling clothes - in storage for several months and then go straight on the shop floor. They expect you to stump up the asking price then get them cleaned before you wear it (of course you can return it for a refund but most don't so the stores & delivered clothing still pongs.) Lately, M&S stores have started smelling similarly.
Tesco & Primark have, like M&S, Next, Burton Group have also downgraded their quality - you thought the lowest quality couldn't get a lower standard but they can and have. Tesco's stuff is almost like it's been made from recycled materials (obviously, it hasn't or they'd be selling that as a good thing!). M&S? Forget it - they too are protecting their profit margins and are charging the same prices for very poor quality.
Problem for us, not them - as they're all selling the same stuff, people buy it as that's all that's on offer and reasonable quality clothes are out of reach financially (or a bit stuffy).
Anyway, thanks for your gripe and letting me get all that off my chest !
Next has long had a talent for selling musty smelling clothes - in storage for several months and then go straight on the shop floor. They expect you to stump up the asking price then get them cleaned before you wear it (of course you can return it for a refund but most don't so the stores & delivered clothing still pongs.) Lately, M&S stores have started smelling similarly.
Tesco & Primark have, like M&S, Next, Burton Group have also downgraded their quality - you thought the lowest quality couldn't get a lower standard but they can and have. Tesco's stuff is almost like it's been made from recycled materials (obviously, it hasn't or they'd be selling that as a good thing!). M&S? Forget it - they too are protecting their profit margins and are charging the same prices for very poor quality.
Problem for us, not them - as they're all selling the same stuff, people buy it as that's all that's on offer and reasonable quality clothes are out of reach financially (or a bit stuffy).
Anyway, thanks for your gripe and letting me get all that off my chest !
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Sorry! I meant the amount of faulty stock an tshirts! Flipping
iPhone!
iPhone!
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I worked at next and the sales are pretty shocking! Most of the stuff brought out is at least a couple of years old and is just overstock they couldn't shift. It's also mostly plain tshitts that they then charge a fiver for when you could nip to asda and get a pack of three for £2.50 even without having to wait for the sale, rummage around and queue for ages for the till. The punt of faulty stock that comes back is ridiculous, and a lot of the stuff on the rails is damaged, but good luck getting a discount! Hem lines are sewn terribly, my trousers all unravelled very quickly and all of the buttons minus one fell off my shirt in the first day of me wearing it. Granted, the designs are good and sometimes you can get a good deal, but we are told never to admit it's next's fault if an item is damaged, which is stupid! They now own lipsy and I think have shares in other companies, and lipsy's dressed have definitely upped in price and gone down in standards. Stock changeover should be quicker and prices should go down by more than a pound in sales!
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'I'm just an independent onlooker' and 'I am not a next employee, my ex-partner is' is a complete contradiction.
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well that's nice for you :) glad I brought a smile to your face however, I am not a next employee, my ex-partner is. I'm just an independent onlooker, and I feel that next quality is good. I've not had a problem. sorry to hear you and others have.
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a_reasoner, your post so crazily and obviously has 'Next employee' written on it that I just had to laugh when reading it. NEXT generally sells a lot of rubbish now and at high prices. It's as simple as that, whatever their so-called ethical background. I don't want to go and buy crappy shirts, and low-quality jeans that don't last more than a few weeks - well, not at the prices NEXT are selling them for. Even things like their accessories are generally cheap, made in China rubbish. I totally agree with this gripe - NEXT is selling poor quality stuff at high prices.
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