Next founder funds new GIVe chain

George Davies, the founder of Next, has invest £20m of his own money into a new fashion chain called Give, reported The Times. Give aims to offer affordable luxury on the high street offer in-store style advisers and tailors to help customers create individual looks. Davies, who also founded George at Asda and Per Una for Marks & Spencer, hopes to give 5%-10% of profits to charity.

Give will open in 25 locations during the autumn, with flagship stores in London’s Regent Street and regional shopping centres. A tie-up with Beales, the department store, will give it access to town-centre locations. Regent Street is to open first, on September 30.

Davies hopes to expand overseas and has had talks with one of Saudi Arabia’s shopping-centre owners. He said he would be disappointed if Give did not see sales of £50m-£60m.

It is less than a year since Davies left Marks & Spencer, where he was chairman of Per Una. He had a tense relationship with Sir Stuart Rose, but this weekend dismissed concern over Rose’s combined role of chairman and chief executive at M&S. “I don’t really see the problem — he’s obviously capable,” Davies said. A more pressing issue was the nonexecutives, he added.

Source: The Times
Image: GIVe logo