Does anyone miss Debenhams/BHS?

[Hairbrush123]

I had a catch up with a friend earlier who said she misses Debenhams a lot and misses the staples she’d buy from BHS. I forgot until just today that they ever existed . My local town centre never had a Debenhams or BHS so maybe that’s why!

Does anyone else miss them?

Oh, and just as an aside, I really miss Timothy Whites... could spend all day in that shop.

I've only ever been to the Debenhams in my small city and it was dreadful. Honestly you'd think it was a front for organised crime or something because it was completely useless. Like the kidswear section had lots of expensive Ted Baker outfits but no... underwear? And the kitchen section had big pot sets but no utensils etc. The footwear was all from the 90's. Even the nice brands they carried seemed to have sent all their weirdest stuff.

Nice Clarins counter when I was going through my Clarins phase. That's all I can say that's positive.

Its cafe WRAPPED AROUND the escalators, one table deep, so yeah.

They turned off the lights in the homewares section in the end, because nobody was going there, but it resulted in a very weird vibe because the kids section was still lit. There was just half a floor left in a dystopian-future half light.

Beause it's the only one I've ever been to (only moved to the UK a few years ago) I assumed they were all as bad, but apparently not?

I miss Debenhams because they sold gorgeous children's dressing gowns around Xmas time and they were always knocked down to about £15. They are thick velour and fleece lined hoods.

I realise a multi million £ business cannot survive on me buying two dressing gowns every 3 years.

I don't want to buy the dds a primark one.

I used to go to bhs in Stevenage on Saturdays with my mum in the 90's to have a donut in the cafe. Happy memories but I can live without it. The Plymouth branch where I am was very dingy.

Actually, in the late 80s/90s BHS used to do a wonderful all cotton separates range for the summer. Tops, trousers, skirts and dresses in nice bright colours, not the ubiquitous sludge green, beige and grey which seems to be all you can get nowadays.

No. Never went in either except as a child in the 60s. C and A is another one I don't miss.

I always popped in to the Homewares and Lighting Department in BHS when visiting Belfast. I miss that section. It was great.

We had a few Debenhams in Dublin. The one in Henry Street was good. Their costume jewellery section was ace. I loved Jon Richard earrings and think it's available online but I'm not sure they deliver to Ireland and with Brexit customs charges it might be just too expensive.

I know many Debenhams employees in Ireland were very unhappy with the terms of their redundancies and there were protests.

I miss BHS

LookItsMeAgain i loved Roches Stores too!

Not really! Both of the stores in our town had gone downhill in the last few years and rather than being somewhere I went out of choice had become a last resort if I couldn't find what I wanted elsewhere.

I miss the lighting department in BHS and the one in our town had an amazing cafe. It was a treat to go there for breakfast on a Saturday as a kid, and when dts were small it was the best place to be able to fit a double buggy so I was there for coffee a lot.

The clothes were shite though.

I also miss Alders and Army & Navy.

Debenhams was a bit random although the one on Oxford street was good.

Trafford Centre Debenhams had an awesome personal shopper service which I used when I needed help with special outfit or wardrobe overhaul. Wish that was still available cos they were choosing from such a great range I always got totally sorted and it was a lovely way to shop.

I miss BHS and Debenhams for different things. The Debenhams in Glasgow was enormous, god knows how they'll fill that space. It had everything in it.
Its the retail staff i feel for.

I didn't miss them to start with but now John Lewis has closed in my town we have no department store and we really could do with something

@LookItsMeAgain
The staff in Roches Stores were lovely - always so helpful.
I met some of the Roches at a social event once They seemed very nice, down to earth people. I recognised one of them who had worked on a cosmetic counter in one of the stores.

We have a dearth of department stores in Dublin now.
Clerys gone
House of Fraser gone
Debenhams gone
Arnotts bought by Brown Thomas.
Arnotts now for sale. I'd love if John Lewis bought it.

Debenhams was my go to store for all my ballgowns and cocktails dresses.
They had a good range at a good price.
I used to enjoy trying them on with very helpful lady assistants and then going into the cafe afterwards for coffee and cake to finish off my trip.
I can't recall going into BHS.
I always call into C&A and Woolworths when I go home to visit my family.

Debenhams in Oxford used to have a bargain basement area that held all the 70% off stock - it was great! And agree with OhGiveUp that it was good for reasonably priced evening wear.

Never shopped at Debenhams but I loved BHS. I got most of my eldest DCs clothes from there when they were small. Also Woolworths. Loved Woolies.

My toddler needs a new coat at present and I keep thinking I wish Debenhams was still here! It was great for things like kids clothing that you need to see in person to judge size and feel the fabric.

Was in town with my DH yesterday. Poor Debenhams is for sale or rent.
I was looking for a new coat, I got my last two there, he suggested trying Debenhams. Since it closed about a year ago I think I’d be lucky.
To be fair, he seldom visits the town centre.

I miss Debenhams, especially this time of year. It was always crowded but had such a lovely atmosphere. My aunty always used to buy our Christmas gifts from there and I always loved what she bought. I used to spend ages in the perfume section Trying them all out and loved shopping for my bridesmaids dresses there. I know you can still buy online but it's not the same.
I miss BHS too. I had my fist Saturday job there years ago and was heartbroken when it closed down.

@Mylastmalteser I'm intrigued as to what this 'fist' Saturday job entailed 😲

@OhGiveUp 🤣clearly didn't involve proof reading or spelling!!

@thenightsky

I miss BHS for their reasonably priced longer length swimsuits. Also, their cotton high leg knickers that came in proper sizes, not 10-12, 14-16 etc.

Many years ago I used to buy a lot of lighting from BHS, they were usually very competitively priced, their bedding was also good value. I noticed when my long blue coat had its annual outing on Remembrance Day that it came from BHS, think I need a new one! I don't miss our local Debenhams one bit, so cluttered and stuffy, its one saving grace was that it provided a good cut through from the bus station to the market!

@mylastmalteser

I miss Debenhams, especially this time of year. It was always crowded but had such a lovely atmosphere. My aunty always used to buy our Christmas gifts from there and I always loved what she bought. I used to spend ages in the perfume section Trying them all out and loved shopping for my bridesmaids dresses there. I know you can still buy online but it's not the same. I miss BHS too. I had my fist Saturday job there years ago and was heartbroken when it closed down.

I remember working Saturdays at BHS, I was on the bacon/cheese section, that's how long ago it was, put me off cheese and bacon for a while, trying to shave the cheese to exactly 4 ounces for little old ladies. There was also a cream cakes section and the manager would reduce stuff to half price 15 minutes before closing, each of us would have our tray in the cooler below the counter that emerged just on time to be reduced!

I miss Debenhams so much. When I first got married and moved in together with DH, we got most of our homeware from Debenhams for our new home. The bedsheets, towels, sofas, cutlery, dining table sets etc. I recently had guests over for dinner last weekend and they loved my dining table set and asked where I got it from and I said Debenhams but 5 years ago. We all then mentioned how much we missed the store and in fact looked online to see if they had any nice things left and no they didn't have many items in the homeware section.

I loved Debenhams especially during this time of the year as well as I got most of my Xmas gifts from there during my lunch hour at work. I do terribly miss it and it's upsetting to see the building standing empty but no other business has taken over the place to trade for something else.