Next opened a new store on Oxford Street this morning that is, in effect, a department store and gathering place for a raft of retailers, as well as its own offer.

In practice, this means the store has Paperchase, Hema and Costa shop-in-shops and in the shoe department there is a Clarks implant, in the shape of a branded shoe wall.

A completely new graphics package and new-look departments have been incorporated into the template and the more than 50,000 sq ft, two-level interior has an atrium with rows of white pendant lights that rise and fall, a feature unique to this store.

A note should also be made about the cash desks, which have been changed with new back wall treatments.

The store, which is east of Oxford Circus brings the retailer up to strength on Oxford Street once more. It has had a branch at this end of the street sporadically since the 1980s. It also, alongside the Manchester Arndale store that boasts a Ford car showroom, points towards a future for Next where it shares its space with non-competing retailers.