Frasers Group stores open at Meadowhall
Flagship stores for Sports Direct and department store Frasers have been created across 100,000 sq ft in the former Debenhams space at the Sheffield shopping centre.
Opening on Wednesday 25 September, the Sports Direct store will be on The Avenue’s upper level, providing customers with sports brands and access to other brands from the group’s stable, including USC, GAME and Evans Cycles.
Frasers will be located on The Avenue’s lower level, and includes the largest Frasers House homeware department yet, a Pret a Manger concession and a beauty hall featuring brands such as Tom Ford, Dior Fragrance, Creed, GHD, Estee Lauder, and Clarins.
David Epstein, managing director of premium and luxury at Frasers Group, said: “Our FRASERS Meadowhall flagship store demonstrates the group’s commitment to setting a new benchmark in retail and creating exceptional shopping destinations. Driven by our
strong partnerships with some of the most renowned premium and lifestyle brands in the industry, we’ve developed an elevated space that combines quality, variety, and innovation.”
Clothing brands represented at the Meadowhall location include Boss, Barbour, UGG, Nobody’s Child, Never Fully Dressed, and RAINS.
Darren Pearce, centre director at Meadowhall, said: “This is a really significant moment for us and we’re extremely excited that Frasers has chosen Meadowhall as the destination for such major store openings, building on the huge success of the flagship Flannels.
“We’re already home to some of the UK’s biggest brands and have launched some amazing new stores and experiences over the last 12 months. Adding a flagship Sports Direct and a brand new Frasers department store only makes the centre even more exciting, bringing fresh brands and experiences for our visitors.”
The project brings back into useful life a further vacant Debenhams store – filling these spaces having taxed retail landlords and local authorities alike since the retailer’s 2020 collapse, with the future of the Sheffield city centre site still uncertain.
Frasers signed a 15-year lease for the 120,000 sq ft Meadowhall space in August 2023. The Frasers group has so far opened 13 Frasers “concept stores” as it looks to phase out the Houser of Fraser brand.
Michael Murray, chief executive, Frasers Group said “we are big believers in physical retail”.
He added: “With each new store opening, we seek to set the benchmark for outstanding regional retail as we continue to bring the world’s most aspirational brands, product innovations, and customer experiences to regional consumers across the UK.”
Meadowhall has this year been taken into the sole ownership of Norwegian investor Norges Investment Bank in a deal valuing the centre at around £734m. Although British Land is no longer co-owner, it remains as asset manager.
Darren Richards, head of real estate at the firm, said that the deals “clearly demonstrate the strength of the retail park format and Meadowhall’s appeal as a super-regional centre”.
