Mike AshleyThe Nose Snoring Frasers Group is on high street fall by opening three giant flagship stores for its designer fashion chain flannels – and plans 15 more projects over the next five years.
The former House of Fraser at the Meadowhall Shopping Center in Sheffield and the former Owen Oven Department Store in Liverpool are set to become flannel sales outlets, as well as a new growth base at the Foss Park Shopping Center in Leicester.
The seven-story, 120,000-square-foot (11,148-square-meter) Liverpool store will include a gym studio, rooftop restaurant and a beauty parlor, a new venture for flannels. The stores in Sheffield and Leicester will also be over 30,000 square feet – twice the size of the Flannels flagship on Oxford Street in London – and will also have beauty parlors and gym studios.
Michael Murray, The “head of heights” in Fraser, told Liverpool that “there is an incomparable appetite for the luxury types we do best”. He said high streets prefer targeted stores with privileged experiences. “We feel that communities welcome exciting, much-needed additions with open arms on their high streets,” he said.
The company said the outlets, which are described as “modern, vibrant retail outlets” that offer “runway collections” with new and emerging brands, are “next-generation stores”.
Liverpool and Meadowhall outlets were expected to be transferred to the group Frazers Department Store Brand, Throwing in quizzes for the mini-chain, five of which are set to open this year.
Despite a bad year for retailers like this in 2020, effectively three luxury department stores are opening. Ashley’s House of Fraser chain closed seven stores last year, bringing the total to 45. John Lewis closed eight and Debenhams, is in management and expects a recovery deal from Fraser, has already closed 40.
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Flannels selling luxury streetwear such as Balenciaga coaches for more than அதிகமாக 500 or Stone Island sweatshirts for £ 220 have proven to be an obvious success – expanding from 12 stores to 40 stores in four years.
Maureen Hinton of retail analytics firm Global Data said plans for giant flannel stores were “high risk” for retail sales in the UK at a difficult time. He said other luxury department stores, such as Cellbridges and Harvey Nichols, struggled outside London.
“Cellbridges know a lot about luxury retail and it is true that they do not bother to open [stores outside London] It means there is a limit to what you can do, ”Hinton said.
