Bold move as fashion retailer takes Next step
FASHION AND HOME BRAND TAKES ITS BEAUTY LINE INTO SHOPS
FASHION chain Next is to take over the former Debenhams store at the Gateshead Metrocentre to expand its sale of homeware and women’s clothes and move into beauty products.
Debenhams closed what is one of the largest stores in the Gateshead shopping centre in June as it battled falling sales and the legacy of huge debts.
The move was a blow to Metrocentre owners intu, which went into administration later that month.
Intu also operates Eldon Square in Newcastle.
Now Next, which already has a department store in the Metrocentre, has signed a deal to take over the former Debenhams site in the centre’s yellow mall, which will allow it to expand its online beauty range into physical stores.
It was not clear, however, whether Next would take over the whole of the former Debenhams site, or just a part of it.
Gavin Prior, operations director at intu Metrocentre, said: “We are delighted to make this announcement today and show that intu Metrocentre continues to be a destination which brands want to invest in.
“This new partnership shows how important flagship destinations are to the future of retail.
“We are very impressed with Next’s ambition for its new concept.
“There are many positive movements in retail and confidence within the industry which will see further announcements and good news for our shoppers.”
No opening date has been set for the new store but further details are expected in the near future.
Next has also struck deals with intu to open similar outlets in former Debenhams stores in Watford and Milton Keynes, which closed at the same time as the Metrocentre site.
The chain has taken advantage of the crisis on the high street to pick up new locations, having previously taken over former Debenhams stores in five shopping centres owned by intu’s main rival Hammerson.
Sites were opened in Birmingham, Reading, Leicester, Glasgow and Croydon.
The announcement of the deal comes as new research shows UK retailers have this year been cutting jobs at the fastest pace since the height of the financial crisis.
The latest retail sales survey by the Confederation of British Industry found the employment balance – measuring job changes over the past 12 months – sank to minus 45% in August from minus 20% in May.
This was its lowest level since February 2009 and retailers polled for the report expect it to fall further with a balance of minus 52% for the next quarter.
The findings come amid mounting warnings of mass unemployment when the Government’s worker furlough scheme comes to an end in October.
The retail sector is among those which have leaned heavily on the scheme since lockdown forced vast swathes of the high street to shut.
Alpesh Paleja, lead economist at the CBI, said: “The furlough scheme has proved effective at insulating workers and businesses in some of the worst-hit sectors during the pandemic but these findings reinforce fears many job losses have been delayed rather than avoided.”
Official figures offered some good news for the embattled retail sector last week, however, revealing total retail sales volumes in July rose 3.6% compared with June and are now 3% above pre-pandemic levels.