Beales chief on what’s in store for shoppers...
BEALES department store will reveal a very new look when it opens its doors to shoppers in Southport.
Feverish building work and shop refitting is currently going on behind the doors of the landmark Lord Street building, part of the historic Wayfarers Arcade, ready for when it opens in August.
Beales will employ around 40 members of staff and is making a much-anticipated return following a total investment of around £800,000.
Beales closed its doors in March last year as the Covid pandemic hit and the firm went into administration, the same month that Debenhams also closed in a double blow to Lord Street and to Southport.
Beales operated stores at the time.
The brand is now owned by New Start 2020 and headed up by Tony Brown, chief executive of the former Beales.
Last year he opened Beales in Poole, followed by Peterborough earlier this year with Southport due to be their third store.
Making Southport the firm’s third venture is a huge vote of confidence in the future of retail for the busy seaside resort.
It will undoubtedly act as a catalyst for other businesses to open in Southport, with the news being revealed in the same week that Mikhail Hotel & Leisure Group announced its planned conversion of the Grand Casino building further along Lord Street into a luxury hotel and wedding venue.
Tony Brown said: “This
26 is a new concept for Beales, one which we have launched in our stores in Poole and Peterborough where it has proved to be really successful.
“I honestly believe that customers want to see a local department store opening in Southport again.
“The old department store model is broken, because it was too costly to maintain.
“We now have a new model which is predominantly concession driven.
“Around 90% of the new store will be concessions, and we have some exciting brands coming in.
“We had a queue of brands wanting to come to Southport, which is really positive.
“We have most of them already signed up, but are looking for a furniture concession to join us.
“We will try to offer a different experience to shoppers while also providing something for different age profiles.
“One concession joining us will be Forever New, a very popular Australian brand, which is really exciting for us.
“We will have the biggest footwear outlet in Southport, and will also open a new chiropody shop and treatment rooms with state of the art equipment.
“In Time watch repairs, which is based in Southport, will have a section here.
“We are looking to open a cafe downstairs, enjoying the beautiful views into Wayfarers Arcade, so people don’t have to climb up to the top floor where it used to be.
“We will be selling perfumes here, but not cosmetics any more.”
Other concessions will include: fashion; homewear; bathroom accessories; luggage; electrical; seasonal; and many more. Brands will include: Forever New, Brakeburn, Crew, Craghoppers, Regatta, Caribou, Harveys Luggage and others.
Tony Brown said: “In both stores we have opened we have reached out to local brands, and we are doing the same with Southport.
“If there is someone out there with a really good idea, maybe someone working from home making gifts or gift foods and they want somewhere to start up, then we can support them to do that.
“We encourage local businesses to come in and give it a go.”
The new store will provide some welcome employment opportunities in Southport.
Mr Brown added: “We should have around 40 people working here when we open, a mixture between full-time and part-time.
“We want to give priority to people we know and people who have worked with us before, and we are delighted to see some of our former employees coming back to join us again.
“Our store manager when we open, Steve Williams, used to be the deputy here.
“We will have some new blood with us as well.
“We are also backing the Government’s Kick Start Scheme, so we can give young people the opportunity to gain some experience and learn all about retail.
“I think we will become a catalyst for even more growth and investment in Southport, I certainly hope so.”
Some other positive changes are already taking place in the town.
A total of £1million in Town Deal acceleration last year has supported the Southport BID-led conversion of Lord Street into ‘a boulevard of light’ with 300,000 lights installed by local firm IllumiDex UK Ltd.
Money from the Town Deal acceleration fund also supported the transformation of Southport Market into a new food, drink and events venue that is due to open next week.
The further £37.5milion Town Deal funding announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the March Budget will ensure the creation of a new Marine Lake Events Centre, a light show on Marine Lake and new business incubator and co-working space in Crown Buildings.
Mr Brown said: “Stuart Barnes from Sefton Council briefed me on all the details happening with ‘the new Southport’.
“That was one of the reasons we have decided to open here, but only one of the reasons.
“Because we have the history here in Southport, we know what worked before and what didn’t work, and what shoppers here want.”
Builders are busy making the store completely watertight, while it will be “much brighter” with new lighting being installed.
The overall layout will be “pretty similar” although the ground floor and first floor will open initially with the second floor opening when the new furniture concession is secured.
Mr Brown said: “Sadly, the store was ransacked while it was closed.
“We used to have a large copper water tank upstairs - they even nicked that.
“They stole copper cabling, they even stole the brakes from our lift.
“When we first returned to the building, we hadn’t estimated the amount of damage that would have been done, or how much money it would cost us to put everything right.”
While reopening a large department store in Southport, Mr Brown has an ethos that small is beautiful when it comes to the number being operated by the company.
That Southport will be one of a secret few Beales stores in the UK shows the huge potential of the resort.
He said: I believe that everyone in the industry agrees that the days of operating over 100 stores successfully has gone.
“Department stores are very tough businesses to run.
“We are looking at opening a couple more stores in the UK later this year.”
●●Future of famous sights: pages 22-23