Jolly’s divides opinion with new brands

Bath residents fear the city is starting to “look like every other dull town” in the wake of House of Fraser’s takeover by Sports Direct. Some have expressed concerns about Bath losing its individual character with such takeovers changing the appearance of the high street. CEO Mike Ashley bought House of Fraser in August 2018, within hours of the upmarket chain going into administration. Since then a range of Sports Direct brands have started becoming prominent in Bath’s flagship House of Fraser store, commonly known as Jolly’s. In a poll, run by our sister website Bath Live, 88 per cent of respondents said they thought Jolly’s had changed since its takeover by Sports Direct. Some expressed regret that the “upmarket” nature of the store appeared to be slipping. Adrian Day said: “Sad to see Bath looking like every other dull town with downmarket corporate brands.” Vicki Chittem Hirst said: “Selling the same products everywhere contributes to store closures. “Throw away fashion, when you constantly buy the cheapest, poor quality items leads to increased waste, child labour and closures of many stores.” However, others saw the change as a nonissue. Tim Thorne said: “Who cares it’s time Bath dropped the ‘snotty’ attitude of Bath being a posh upper classed town. “I say it’s his shop so sell what you want in it and hopefully keep staff employed.” A decision is still awaited on the long-term future of Jolly’s as B&NES Council, the landlord, is in talks with a number of potential tenants.