Retail in Greater Manchester

[flange]

Originally Posted by oakman

Jane Norman is closing in the TC due to lease expiry , it is the unit on the right of the entrance where GAP is .
The Burtons unit is now completely boarded with the adjacent one , it looks like a major refit is going on , and its a huge space , flange I expect you to know what is going on in there ......

Not that surprising over Jane Norman, am more shocked it didn't close when the company went into administration a few years back.

I would hazard a guess that the former Burton/Clintons unit will become the unit for Victoria Secrets. That area off Peel Avenue seems to be the area for American retailers to open within at the Trafford Centre, with Apple & Banana Republic on Upper Peel Avenue and Hollister and Forever 21 on Lower Peel Avenue.

[ReissOmari]

What's Primark looking like lately?

[iheartthenew]

Good. Superior to M&S in my opinion. I was in there yesterday and its not far off finished.

[flange]

Originally Posted by ReissOmari

What's Primark looking like lately?

Went in there Friday night, the store is feeling smaller now after being complety opened up for the Christmas trade, now the last section of the store is being refurbished to match the rest of the newly refurbished sections of store.

Also the hoardings are still up around the new escaltor atrium, hopefully though that should be unveiled soon I would imagine. It is the biggest change really inside the store, with the escalators being centralised in the store, rotated around and expanded too. As iheartthenew says it is a very good job they have done inside the store, and also outside with cleaning the stonework and the new shopfronts too, it should be all mplete for the Spring.

Originally Posted by flange

The Market Street entrance by Cafe Nero at Primark is now closed off with that last section of the store now closed off for refurbishment, also the new escalator atrium is still closed off too.

[ReissOmari]

That's good, have to get some photo's up whenever someone is free!

[flange]

Here are a few photos of the works completed so far at Primark Reiss.

The refurbished Piccadilly Gardens entrance.

Originally Posted by flange

The new second escalator atrium at the Piccadilly Gardens entrance and the now closed off Fountain Street entrance.

Originally Posted by flange

Also now the building is being lit up at night.

Originally Posted by iheartthenew

Looks good at night too:

One of the two Market Street entrance refurbished, with the other entrance further up the street now closed off for refurbishment works.

Originally Posted by flange

[oakman]

Originally Posted by flange

Not that surprising over Jane Norman, am more shocked it didn't close when the company went into administration a few years back.

I would hazard a guess that the former Burton/Clintons unit will become the unit for Victoria Secrets. That area off Peel Avenue seems to be the area for American retailers to open within at the Trafford Centre, with Apple & Banana Republic on Upper Peel Avenue and Hollister and Forever 21 on Lower Peel Avenue.

I heard today that the Burton/Clinton unit may end up being Urban Outfitters , and they have a lot of vacancies for managers in Manchester on their website , Victoria's Secret will be opening but not sure where yet . Will post when I know more !

[flange]

Originally Posted by oakman

I heard today that the Burton/Clinton unit may end up being Urban Outfitters , and they have a lot of vacancies for managers in Manchester on their website , Victoria's Secret will be opening but not sure where yet . Will post when I know more !

Interesting rumour there oakman. Urban Outfitters are really the only other American retailer not open at the Trafford Centre so far, so it make sense that they would be interested in opening in the centre, especially in Peel Avenue what with it being the area that American retailer seem to like to open within.

I would think the only other units that Victoria Secrets could open in, will be the former Sports Direct/Bon Marche units or the former JJB unit right next door to Ann Summers and a few units away from La Senza on Lower Peel Avenue.

[Futurelink]

The Urban Outfitters vacancies are advertised as bring for White City. Possibly a new opening there, then?

[tellmeastorey]

White City is in London.

[ashley b]

Originally Posted by tellmeastorey

White City is in London.

There's a White City Retail park in Trafford too.

[iheartthenew]

Yes, but I cant see on Urban Outfitters taking a unit on a tired retail park alongside Halfords, SCS Furniture and Pizza Hut...

[tellmeastorey]

Urban Outfitters have a shop in White City in London.

[mclassplanet]

Went past the Stretford Mall this morning and it looks as if the Argos store located there has now closed down. Bad news for the mall unless they can persuade another retailer to go in there.

I know something like this has been said before, but what ideally ought to happen is for most of the Stretford Mall to be flattened (with the exception of the old market area which should be preserved for historic reasons) and replaced by a new development with fewer shops. The old Argos/HSBC axis could/should become an open air street (no vehicle access) with a mix of shop styles, perhaps linked to a new car park via a small covered mall, with the site also featuring two completely separate food stores as well as units capable of housing existing retailers like Boots, Heron, Quality Save, etc., and now is the right time to contemplate such a development. There should also be more main road frontages and green spaces in order to properly integrate the development with the rest of the area.

Hopefully the plan for a new supermarket (Lidl? Aldi?) as part of the existing mall will be thrown out on a technicality, forcing the site's owners to consider something much more radical instead. I'm struggling to think of a comparable area of Greater Manchester that could likewise be radically improved by one major new development.

[Futurelink]

Originally Posted by tellmeastorey

Urban Outfitters have a shop in White City in London.

Apologies, must've misread the details on my phone.

[nosey]

Originally Posted by iheartthenew

Yes, but I cant see on Urban Outfitters taking a unit on a tired retail park alongside Halfords, SCS Furniture and Pizza Hut...

White City badly needs something because I can't see why there are so many empty units.

It is near the city centre, has close by destinations like Utd football ground, Lancashire Cricket Ground, Offices nearby, Trafford Centre not that far, Salford Quays opposite.

If anything, it should be great. It is in the right location and you could make a lot of money.

[iheartthenew]

Unfortunately Nosey, nothing much seems to have happened since the large supermarket proposal (to go where Homebase was) got refused a year or two ago in favour of Tesco down the road. Like Stretford Mall down the road, I feel it requires substantial reworking with superior units. Could then attract everyones favourite rumoured retailer and one of their "Home" stores

[nq]

Not sure if this was reported on re White City. An appeal against a few of the conditions attached to this permission was decided in December, second time a decision has been made, the first having been quashed.

http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk...20DECISION.pdf

Initial wording,

(6) The retail units hereby permitted shall not be used (except as ancillary to other sales) as anything other than non-food retail warehousing nor shall they be used (except as ancillary to other sales) for the sale of any of the following goods :Clothing, materials and garments; shoes and other footwear; medical goods and other pharmaceutical goods; recording media, games, toys and hobbies; musical instruments; books and stationery; articles, products and appliances for personal care; jewellery, watches and clocks; other personal effects.

(7) There shall be no subdivision or amalgamation of any of the retail units hereby permitted.

Condition 7 removed, 6 amended to,

(6A) The retail units hereby permitted shall be used for the sale of nonfood comparison goods only and there shall be no sale of food or convenience goods from the units at any time.

There's still this app in planning for variation to the Homebase replacement, amending the elevations.

[iheartthenew]

Thanks NQ, good find! Doesn't look very exciting though... if they allowed food/comparison goods we might have seen an M&S Simply Food in there a la Manchester Fort

[iheartthenew]

Retail Week is reporting that Store 21 and Republic are finding the going hard... With Republic allegedly asking lanlords for monthly payment terms and bailiffs entering some branches of Store 21.

Thanks to Loudrocksurfer on the Brum forum for that bit of info