George Davies - The Man Who Created 3 Iconic Brands

 George Davies - NEXT, George by ASDA and Per Una

George Davies has been dubbed the "King of the High Street".

The concept of NEXT, the successful British retailer, was created by George in 1982 having previously worked for Littlewoods, where Davies said he learnt the art of retail and "the importance of effective stock control and the need for understanding local buying patterns."

Terence Conran, of Conran, had recently bought 70 stores from Hepworths/Kendalls.  Terence wanted a new, profitable, retail brand and he enlisted George to do the job.  The ethos behind NEXT was "the total concept look" where customers could obtain their whole wardrobe from a NEXT store.  This mentality in the NEXT customer is still very apparent today, especially around sale times where customers literally queue for HOURS to be the first to get their hands on the merchandise and exit with bundles of it.

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

NEXT 1983

The infamous 'NEXT Directory' followed in 1987 - with elements of both a catalogue and magazine, it was a fresh take on the concept of catalogue shopping - it was the first catalogue to actually swatch in fabric samples, it communicated the brand through editorials as well as available product and customers would get their orders with 48 hours - a huge difference from the norm of 28 days in those years.

NEXT's first directory

When NEXT hit financial woes, some say because the brand was being extended into too many separate retail sectors - florists!!,  George Davies left (it's documented that he was sacked, but we won't focus on that) in December 1988.  In 2000 George reminisced about his time at next and said he still regarded it as his "in a way".

The brand continued with the same concept initiated by Davies releasing twice yearly ( A/W - S/S) directories and advertising a 'full look' to the customer:

NEXT Directory 2001

NEXT Directory 2002

George Davies, now with a strong reputation in the retail game, was approached by ASDA to develop a new clothing range.  What emerged was 'GEORGE by ASDA'.  GEORGE retailed a dizzying 85 collections a year, fast fashion at its very fastest.  The retail space was out of town, often within the ASDA supermarket itself. 

The line launched in 1990 with an emphasis on family 'outfitting' with the ads below.  They ran with a quote from George that reads:

"I've moved on and so has the consumer.  The way forward is mixing quality and style with value and convenience - the choice is simply yours."

GEORGE at ASDA 1990

GEORGE at ASDA 1990

GEORGE at ASDA 1990

GEORGE at ASDA 1990

GEORGE at ASDA 1990

By 2000, GEORGE at ASDA was turning over £600M.  But in 2000, Wal-Mart bought ASDA and this eventually led to George Davies' departure.  GEORGE the clothing line, however, was extended through to the American market and now retails in the UK, US, Argentina, Canada, China, India, Japan and Mexico with turnover's reaching over £2Billion.

GEORGE at ASDA also remained loyal to the concept derived by Davies - fast fashion at affordable price points.

 

 George Davies at Marks and Spencer

At this point, Davies was estimated to be worth around £100M - you'd forgive a man with a penny pot this size for retiring and enjoying the fruits of his labour.  Instead, after persuasion from his old colleague Terence Conran, Davies enlisted on a new brand for the flailing British High Street retailers Marks and Spencer and so Per Una was born.

Davies' had publicly stated his distaste for M&S's current ranges - slating their Autograph range due to its high price point, and suggesting the other ranges focused only on quality rather than a balance between quality and style. 

Davies' Per Una - "For One Woman" was;

 "Aimed at the fashion conscious woman who defines herself by attitude not age."

Through his first week on the job, Davies received over 200 letters from members of the public excited by his arrival at Marks and Spencer - they depicted where they thought the shop had gone wrong and urged him to fix it.  That's a testament to the nostalgia and connection people felt/feel with Marks and Spencer and their faith in what George can do for a brand.

Here, on September 28th 2001the Daily Mail printed a great review of the Per Una range:

The troubles at M&S grew larger with a variety of departures and ultimately Stuart Rose, being parachuted in, against the desires of Philip Green.  The inevitable cost cutting exercise then ensued and I believe George Davies' contract, relative to Per Una, was switched to an own-buy status by M&S.  This did not suit George Davies as we suspect he lost a margin.  The wrangling continued and we believe that ultimately George Davies sold the Per Una brand to M&S for £100M.

There you go, not bad and if you add it to all the other much merited successes of George Davies the UK High Street should be thankful and proud of all that he has achieved for all, including himself.