Relief as upmarket department store Frasers set to move into empty Debenhams at Meadowhall
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The upmarket department store will take on the giant two-storey space at the end of Park Lane. It will be a huge boost to that area of the mega-mall which has been quiet following a string of high profile closures last year. But the new shop is not set to open until March, sources say, dashing hopes of cashing in on the lucrative Christmas period.
House of Fraser was established in Glasgow in 1849. The chain was bought by Mike Ashley of Sports Direct in 2018. In 2021, a spin-off named Frasers was launched in Wolverhampton, selling mostly high-end designer brands. It featured other Frasers Group brands – Sports Direct, Evans Cycles, GAME and Flannels. Since then several other House of Fraser stores have been converted to the Frasers format.
A Meadowhall spokeswoman declined to comment on the deal.
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Hide AdBut she said conversations were ‘progressing well’ with an occupier for a large empty unit on the upper floor next to Flannels Lifestyle. Flannels - another Frasers Group brand - operates over two floors on Park Lane and has just completed an extension to take more space on the upper level, she added.
It is another boost for Park Lane which last year lost Debenhams, a combined TopShop and Topman and Miss Selfridge, all of which remain empty. It sparked a string of closures and relocations and today there are about 10 empty units on the street including Neal’s Yard Remedies, snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan’s, Whistles, Printed By Us and Tessuti - which relocated to High Street.
Last week The Star revealed Meadowhall’s ‘Winter Wonderland’ Christmas attraction has moved to the TopShop unit on Park Lane in a bid to shore up footfall. In previous years it has been on High Street and The Arcade.
As recently as 2019, Debenhams had 165 department stores and 25,000 staff. The 242-year-old retailer closed in May year.
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Hide AdA former Debenhams on The Moor in Sheffield also remains closed.
Frasers Group was contacted for comment about the investment in the empty Meadowhall unit.