Latest news with #HouseofFraser
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
‘Broken' department chain launches 20% off clearance sale as it announces permanent closure of shopping centre store
The Fraser group will be focusing on upmarket lifestyle hubs sAle away 'Broken' department chain launches 20% off clearance sale as it announces permanent closure of shopping centre store Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AFTER nearly three decades of trading, a popular House of Fraser store is set to close. The department store in Victoria Centre, Nottingham, which first opened in 1997, will roll down the shutters in October this year. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 House of Fraser has been struggling since 2022 Credit: Getty It's bittersweet news for shoppers, who have been treated to a 20 percent off sale inside the store. The once-thriving shopping hub was nearly shut in 2022 after Fraser Group chief exec Michael Murray described the brand as a "broken business". At the time, he said: 'House of Fraser was a broken business when we bought it. "We've completely changed the operating model. It was mostly concession, the stores were way too big, they were under‑invested. "Our future vision is that House of Fraser will diminish and Frasers will grow.' Once boasting more than 60 stores across the UK, the department store has steadily shuttered locations since its 2018 acquisition by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, over a dozen sites—including flagship locations like Oxford Street and regional mainstays in Cardiff, Cheltenham, and Nottingham—have closed their doors. The closures reflect a deeper failure to adapt to a rapidly evolving retail landscape. Many of its stores were oversized and heavily reliant on concessions—third-party brands renting space—which offered little control over stock or customer experience. Frasers Group is now repositioning itself around a new retail vision, investing in smaller-format 'Frasers' stores and upmarket lifestyle hubs, with sport and luxury offerings as its focus. The Sun has approached House of Fraser representatives for comment. House of Fraser is just one brand struggling against recent economic pressures and changes in consumer habits. A combination of rising inflation, energy costs, and interest rates has squeezed both household spending and business margins, creating a perfect storm for retail operators. For many consumers, essentials have taken priority over discretionary purchases, leading to a noticeable decline in footfall and in-store spending. Even major players with established reputations have found themselves forced to close stores, reduce staff, or pivot entirely toward e-commerce. This comes as Poundland bosses implemented a series of closures this year after the business was hit by spiraling operating costs and weakening footfall. In Cornwall, one Poundland was evicted from one of its locations - leaving staff locked out of work overnight. The budget chain was kicked out of its store on Fore Street in St Austell, CornwallLive reported. A bizarre notice was also posted in the window of the popular store. It read: "We as authorised agents acting on behalf of the above-named landlord have today re-entered these premises and any lease or licence is hereby determined. "Any attempt to enter these premises without the written authority of the above-named landlord will result in criminal/civil proceedings being taken." A Poundland spokesperson confirmed that the locks were changed overnight without notice.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Locals living in dead end ghost town say their high street is now a cruel joke with shuttered up shops and THREE bakeries
When a new shopping centre was built to 'put a heart into Swindon' more than 50 years ago, it seemed fitting to name it after the famous railway engineer who put the town on the map - Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Half a century on, the landmark building in the centre of the Witlshire town looks to have run out of steam. Almost half of the stores and units inside The Brunel Centre have closed and those that remain struggle to attract shoppers as they increasingly switch to online purchases and out-of-town retail parks. The next-door multi-storey car park is virtually empty and appears run-down and unmanned. Despite the frontages of several former showpiece Brunel Centre stores like House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer, which closed in 2021 and 2023 respectively, being emblazoned with trendy-looking '#The Best of Swindon' signage, the site is now more notable for having three Greggs outlets within a 100-metre radius. One of the Greggs premises is so popular it has a 40-seat eating area and all three footsteps had lengthy queues for most of the day. As one local, 69-year-old Jeff Barton put it: 'Swindon has become Greggs Central now. The town is fast filling up with their rubbish bakeries. I wouldn't go near them.' A retired Swindon council groundsman, Mr Barton remembered fondly his days spent working to enhance the town's sense of civic pride. He said: 'One of my responsibilities was to make the town centre look nice. There were plants and flowers everywhere back in my day - we had 84 hanging baskets full of them around The Brunel Centre and it looked wonderful. 'You go there now and everything's closing and it looks a mess outside. It is so sad.' His wife, Denise, 68, now also retired from her job working in admin, agreed. She said: 'It used to be such a pleasure coming into town, but nowadays we avoid it when we can because it's so depressing. 'I hate to say it, but I think it's all over for Swindon. The place we knew and loved has gone and it's not coming back. 'Shopping habits have changed because of the internet and that's partly to blame, but how can people buy clothes without trying them on first and having a feel of the fabric? 'All we'll have left in town soon will be streets full of coffee shops - mostly Greggs by the look of things.' With many areas of Swindon experiencing high levels of poverty - 10 per cent of its neighbourhoods are among the worst in England and it ranks 157th out of 326 local authorities in the Index of Multiple Deprivation - it was no surprise when pound shops moved into the town centre. But today, two of the three that set up have recently closed, prompting Mrs Barton to say: 'Even the pound shops are leaving Swindon now. That tells you everything about how the town is dying.' When Brunel and his plans for the Great Western Railway arrived in 1843, Swindon was little more than a sleepy market town on top of a hill. Brunel identified it as a site for GWR's locomotive repair and maintenance works because of its strategic location between London and Bristol, it quickly grew into a thriving railway hub that would become one of the largest railway engineering complexes in the world at its peak. Even the town's Poundland's store on the corner of Regent Street and Havelock Square shut last month, with the company unable to agree on lease terms to keep them trading at the site Architect Douglas Stephen, who designed The Brunel Centre, was an admirer of Brunel and included many railway-themed features in his creation, including a roof built to echo Paddington Station. But in recent years, shoppers have abandoned the once-thriving centre and the streets around it are near-deserted. A market hall next door ceased trading eight years ago and many adjacent shops are boarded up. James Steward, who runs a jewellery and watch-making shop set up by his father next to the now-derelict market hall, says Swindon's decline was 'accelerated' by the Covid lockdown. Mr Steward, 49, said: 'People's shopping habits changed dramatically during the pandemic and many of them haven't really come back. 'There are other factors too and I think the decline here is part of a global trend that we are seeing all over the world. 'A lot of people work from home now. Their offices in town have since closed so there's no reason for them to come here any more. 'They used to pop in at lunchtime and buy a watch or jewellery but I guess they're buying it online now, if at all. As a result, shops here are closing all the time. 'I've noticed a lot of my older, more affluent customers are now going to Bath or Cirencester and making a day of it, rather than coming here. 'I'm proud to be a Swindonian and I hate talking the town down, but in all honesty, it's difficult to defend it nowadays. 'If I've got a day off now, I won't come here either. I'll get the family in the car and we'll have a day out somewhere else instead. 'The council need to think harder about how to get people back into Swindon. I'd start by abolishing, or at least significantly reducing, car park charges. They've gone through the roof, and it puts people off coming because they can be a tenner down before they've even parked up. 'And they need to work with the police to crack down on the muggers and gangs who gather here at night so people feel safe in Swindon again.' Finance worker Ana Banca, 51, said she has 'had enough' of living in Swindon and wants to move. 'It's not safe walking around the town centre, especially at night. There's no way I'd be in the town centre in the evenings now. There have been loads of stabbings and robberies in the past year or two, and drugs are a massive problem. 'And during the day, it just feels dead. The decent shops have closed down and it's all Greggs and coffee shops. 'The town feels dirty and very sad.' In The Brunel Centre itself, we find retired NHS nurse Susan O'Neill, 76, who remembers the site's heyday with pride. 'I used to love coming here,' she said. 'The place was buzzing with people and there were some marvellous shops. But you look around now and half the shops have closed down and the other half are empty. 'It saddens me to say it but I think the town centre as we know it is finished. 'Not just here, mind - it's the same everywhere. 'I think it's time to reinvent town centres and do things differently. For Swindon, I'd love to see the town centre become a hub for the arts. We could accept that town centre shopping has had its day and replace retail with theatres, art galleries, music events and lovely places to eat and meet people.' Her friend, Martin Collison, 82 and a retired project manager, said: 'I agree with her. We need to find a way of bringing the vibrancy back to Swindon so people want to come into town again.' Retired fire and rescue service chaplain the Rev John Maxwell, 79, blames ever-rising rents and business rates for Swindon's economic decline, saying: 'It's no wonder all the shops are closing down - they just can't afford to be here any longer. 'The only brand that seems to be doing well is Greggs. Personally, I can't stand their food or coffee, but many people around here must like what they're doing because they've got three shops here and they're always busy.'
Glasgow Times
7 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow gangland mum has shoplifting charge binned
THE mother of gangland boss Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel has had a shoplifting charge dropped by prosecutors. Annette Daniel had been accused of stealing handbags from the House of Fraser store in Glasgow's Buchanan Street on February 18 2024. The 63-year-old had been due to face a summary trial without a jury last week. Daniel, of the city's Robroyston, was at Glasgow Sheriff Court, but the case did not go ahead with it being marked as "not called". READ MORE: Number of arrests on day two of TRNSMT 2025 revealed A Crown Office spokesperson later confirmed: "The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a (then) 62-year-old female and an incident said to have occurred on February 18 2024. "After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances - including available admissible evidence - it was decided there should be no further proceedings taken at this time." The statement added prosecutors "reserve the right" to re-raise the case should further evidence become available. Daniel had initially been due to appear at court to face the charge back in April. But she was not in the dock following fears for her safety after her home had recently been torched amid a high-profile underworld turf war. READ MORE: Local business torched as fire crews tackle 'wilful' blaze Defence lawyer Ross Jenkins told the sheriff at the time: 'There are professional concerns about Ms Daniel attending court. 'She is on standby to attend should the court wish, but there are issues that you may be aware of.' The case was then adjourned until the July date before being shelved by prosecutors.
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Mum of Glasgow gangland boss Steven ‘Bonzo' Daniel has court case dropped after fears for her safety
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE mother of gangland boss Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel has had a shoplifting charge dropped by prosecutors. Annette Daniel had been accused of stealing handbags from the House of Fraser store in Glasgow's Buchanan Street on February 18 2024. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Gangster Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel, part of the Daniel crime clan Credit: Spindrift 3 Annette Daniels was due to appear for trial at Paisley Sheriff Court before charges were dropped Credit: Alamy The 63 year-old had been due to face a summary trial without a jury last week. Daniel, of the city's Robroyston, was at Glasgow Sheriff Court, but was the case did not go ahead with it being marked as "not called". A Crown Office spokesperson later confirmed: "The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a (then) 62 year-old female and an incident said to have occurred on February 18 2024. "After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances - including available admissible evidence - it was decided there should be no further proceedings taken at this time." The statement added prosecutors "reserves the right" to re-raise the case should further evidence become available. Daniel had initially been due to appear at court to face the charge back in April. But, she was not in the dock following fears for her safety after her home had recently been torched amid a high-profile underworld turf war. Daniel's home was targeted by thugs acting for Dubai-based mobster Ross 'Miami' McGill in April as part of an explosion of gangland violence across the country. Defence lawyer Ross Jenkins told the sheriff at the time: 'There are professional concerns about Ms Daniel attending court. 'She is on standby to attend should the court wish, but there are issues that you may be aware of.' Fresh twist in Scotland's deadly gang war as 'Lyons' driver ambushed in brutal machete attack The case was then adjourned until the July date before being shelved by prosecutors. Daniel's bungalow and her 72-year-old brother Norman's home in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, were set alight in late-night attacks. We told how her home was set on fire at around 1am on April 14. A nearby bungalow belonging to Norman also went up in flames. 3 Annette Daniel faced trial for shoplifting but has had the case dropped Days earlier a woman of 72 and a 12-year-old — both thought to be relatives of the Daniels — were battered when hoods stormed a flat in Milton, Glasgow. A second house linked to Annette in the city's Robroyston had a window smashed. Cops are also investigating blaze attacks and shootings in the capital. The mayhem has seen thugs targeting properties linked to the Daniel clan and jailed Edinburgh cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson, 37. Bonzo Daniel was left disfigured after a machete murder bid by Lyons crew rivals in 2017.
TimesLIVE
18-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
London's Oxford Street to go traffic-free in shopping area makeover
London's Oxford Street, one of Britain's busiest and most famous shopping districts, will be pedestrianised, London mayor Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday, in a move designed to smarten the area and create a new public space to help drive growth. The plan to rid Oxford Street of cars and buses, which has been more than 20 years in the making, looks set to become a reality after consultations on proposals published in September showed most Londoners and businesses back the idea. Supporters of pedestrianising the mile-long stretch in central London said similar traffic-free schemes for Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona have breathed new life into tired areas. 'We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street, establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue,' Khan said when announcing the results of the public consultation. Oxford Street attracts about 500,000 visitors every day, according to the mayor's office, but many flagship shops including House of Fraser and Topshop have shut in recent years, and Khan said the area had been neglected. He will work with the government on legislation to go traffic-free, which would happen 'as quickly as possible'. That will require finding new routes for the dozens of buses which travel on the street every hour. The government said Khan's plan for a new 'beautiful public space' will attract more tourists, drive new investment in the area and create jobs.
