It’s always interesting to witness the progress of a store format from first iteration to fully evolved interior and a good example of the process at work is the manner in which Next has approached its Home format.

The store at Barton Square, the extension to Manchester’s Trafford centre, which welcomed its first customers a couple of weeks back, is now a grown-up version of what was first seen at Lakeside almost two years ago. As well as incorporating a number of new departments, it is a considerably toned-down and more refined version of what was on offer originally.

It has also been thought through, so that many of the initial elements have been extended and made part of the wider brand. The black and white graphics that were a feature of the window scheme at Lakeside, for instance, have now been used as the design for the wrapping paper at the cash desk.

Then there is the store layout. A clear separation was made at Lakeside between the living room offer and the kitchen and dining areas and this is continued in this store. It just looks better, because Next and design consultancy Dalziel + Pow have been given scope and time to improve upon their first thoughts.

The same is broadly true of the rest of what is on view at Barton Square. Bhs’ British Home Store is much less bling than what was first seen in Chichester in 2006. Gone is the shiny white box and in its place is a large space where other colours, brown and black, have been introduced, lending a rather more subtle aspect to the store’s design.

But the prize for ongoing evolution at Barton Square should probably be awarded to Habitat. Here the fixtures and fittings developed for locations such as Cheltenham, Regent Street and Cambridge have been put into a symmetrically shaped 18,000 sq ft box, which has allowed the retailer to break the space up at its leisure. It has done this by inserting free-standing walls and, wisely, it has opted for a single colour throughout the shop. This means that if things aren’t right initially, changing the store layout can be effected without having to go redecorate entirely.

All of which is very tasteful and likely to prove popular with design-conscious Mancunians. This is rather more than can be said for the fountains in the middle of Barton Square. These feature gilded nymphets and mermaids with pneumatic breasts, lending a quasi-pornographic feel to the whole venture. Perhaps people in Manchester like this kind of thing, although it seems unlikely. This looks more like an instance of retailers being miles ahead of the developments built to house them.

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