Going, going, almost gone
IT was once the beating heart of Swansea’s shopping scene and would always be packed with customers looking for a new item of clothing or a gift.
Generations of people in Swansea have headed to the Debenhams store in the Quadrant Shopping Centre to find the perfect Christmas or birthday gift, fit themselves out with new clothes, or enjoy a meal or coffee with friends or family in the cafeteria.
That all came to an imminent end in January with the long-anticipated announcement that all Debenhams’ UK stores would close when the brand was bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo for £55 million.
Debenhams will relaunch as an onlineonly operation but stores have reopened for one last sale before they close for good.
The fire sale, running throughout May, offers up to 70% off fashion and home products, and up to 50% off beauty and fragrance lines at 97 of the 118 Debenhams stores in the UK.
Images have now emerged showing the final shoppers grabbing any last-minute bargains they could find.
They reveal the sad sight of empty floor spaces that were once full with row upon row of the latest consumer products and gifts.
Signs reading “everything must go” and showing 50% off and buy-one-get-one-free deals are hung around the store as the last customers pass through the doors before they are shuttered for good.
Rows of empty clothing racks can be seen next to shelves with a dwindling supply of products on them as people snap up their final Debenhams purchases.
People said the store’s closure would leave a “gaping hole” in the city centre.
Sian Ifan, a Swansea resident who expressed shock at the news on the day the announcement was made earlier this year, said: “It’s a sign of what is happening in Swansea and other big towns in Wales at the moment. The larger stores were struggling anyway because of the high (business) rates. It’s going to be a big blow for shoppers.
“When the big stores close all we get to replace them is pound shops so it’s not very inspiring to attract people here. They want to see a city that’s looking good and that looks like it has a future”.