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?

My city had a Debenhams, BHS and an Outfit either in or within walking distance of the centre. All gone....

Whats left is an M & S, a load of sports shops, about 4 Greggs and numerous discount stores. Quite sad really

[quote Hairbrush123]@Draggondragon how interesting! They also have Debenhams in Dubai still. Do you shop in BHS/Debenhams as you still have the option?[/quote]
Yes all the time! I just bought a set of spode Christmas plates and glasses!

I miss both stores for different reasons. Debenhams in the 90s was where I bought nearly all of my kitchen equipment and bedding when I was buying my house. My home town store was big and had a lovely homeware department. I also liked the Maine and Manteray ranges as well as quite a few Jasper Conran items. Nightwear was also lovely and most of my cotton nighties are from there.

BHS sold the best selection of tights and in loads of different colours. Their towels, bedlinen and lighting were fabulous and I still have a standard lamp from there that's 20 years old and still going strong. Their dinner services were also lovely - does anyone remember Eternal Beau? I recently saw a whole set in my local charity shop and remembered how hugely popular that was. I used to work with loads of people who collected it.

My hometown only had a Debenhams, BHS and M&S. All are now gone and I really miss having somewhere to browse. Debenhams online is rubbish compared to the shops.

Our local BHS had a great lighting and home wares department. Also had a wallis I think.
Debenhams, long slow decline but still ok. Only place with a decent selection of perfumes. The loss of both stores has left a huge gap in our town. Only have an M and S now.

I miss both.
BHS for shoes, bedding & lighting
Debenhams for all the different concessions, good Xmas gift ideas, decorations and homeware (Oxford Street store for Xmas window)

I miss BHS but not Debenhams as I found their "franchise"/department layout very annoying and time consuming to navigate, especially in their older stores with lots of different rooms/floors, to navigate around, not so bad in the modern single story open stores, but still annoying to have to traipse around different "franchise" areas for something simple like a pair of jeans or a coat. BHS was a lot easier/quicker to shop in. I also really miss C&A, but have been able to get my fix a few times when on holiday in European cities as it was only the UK where they closed everything. Like BHS, I also miss Littlewoods. I just want to go into a shop, go to where the jeans/coats/dresses are located, have a look, buy and go. I don't have the time nor inclination to spend time just browsing.

I am wearing my last remaining BHS bra right now :( I've never been able to find a replacement as good. I used to love their 99p breakfasts too.

@Glitterblue

I miss both.

Me too.

I miss Debenhams but couldn’t care less about bhs

Yes both. I bought a lot of clothes for ds in BHS. We also visited the cafe a lot as it had a nice play area . I shopped in Debenhams loads for clothes, homeware and Christmas shopping and our wedding list was there. Really miss it

I miss Debenhams, as I used to drive for them. However, in my 11 years there I was always amazed they hadn't gone under earlier. Some of their stores were in pointless locations, a lot were difficult to deliver to, and the sale and leaseback of the sites meant they had no assets when the hard times came.

I used to love Debenhams when i was at uni (we didn’t have one where I live) but hated BHS and although there was one near where I lived I refused to go in. I was temp staff in a BHS when at uni and absolutely hated every single minute I was there. Terrible place to work full of useless tat we were forced to push on people as well as their terrible account card. Gah.. I hate even thinking of that place!

Debenhams and BHS meh. C&A, definitely, although not sure I would be wearing Clock House these days. Woolies, absolutely.

Oh,BHS was quite handy for secret Santa crap

I miss Debenhams but the Debenhams of about 10 years ago before it went downhill trying to cater to two markets and sell topshop quality at john lewis prices.

@LadyEloise1 - I'd love it if a French department store or any department store that isn't from the UK actually came in to Ireland. Some diversity and something different to what we're used to. If recent times have shown us anything, if the UK high street suffers, so will the Irish one as the vast majority of the stores on our streets and in our shopping centres are off-shoots from their UK branches. That worked pre-Brexit but it's less attractive now.

@LookItsMeAgain
Very good points in your post there.

Our local Debenhams was new (ish) and fab. I loved a good browse and used to get lots of Christmas presents there.
Now I do the majority of my shopping online, but never online at Debenhams.

I miss Woollies pick & mix. The Wilko version is all jellies and nasty gummy things. Woolies did amazing boiled sweets and spearmint chews.

I miss Debenhams especally Christmas Shopping for cosmetics our Boots just doesn't have the same range. Yes you can order online but I liked going in. I did miss BHS but it's been closed that long it's a distant memory.