To feel sad Debenhams is going?

[CrotchBurn]

Don't know why but it just makes me feel nostalgic
www.bbc.com/news/business-55793411

I am ashamed to admit that my last purchases from Debenhams (mainly homeware, but also some nice dresses and accessories in the sales) were bought online.

This was primarily because I needed larger clothes sizes etc that I did not think would be in-store.

Very sad to see the stores go though. Agree with PP about the in-store cafes. I remember enjoying a jacket potato with half a huge block of cheese grated on the side (great value for money)! Pretty cosy, casual but enjoyable experience.

I will miss Debenhams too. I liked the choice in swimwear, handbags, baby clothes most of my babies clothes were brought in there (going back some years now) Home department was also good. My work experience was also at Debenhams, so very nostalgic for me.

It is a shame departments stores have closed, in our town all of these type of stores have closed down. Sign of the times I suppose.

Once we get to the other side of this pandemic, the High Street will be a very different place, what will go into the empty units? I can see shopping becoming more experienced based, perhaps more family/sports activities to encourage more time to be spent at a shopping centre, not just for shopping but for activity & have lunch or dinner. Free or nominal parking fees in centres would help too. Park & ride schemes etc.

Something to draw the crowds back, it’s going to be quite some time yet sadly.

Sad for the people who work there, but I don’t think I have been inside any Arcadia group shop more than once in the last 20 years. (Wrong age group for the 2000s Top Shop boom).

The trouble is that too many high street stores decided to plonk a branch into too many high streets.

I agree. The high streets we have now - rows and rows of chains - massive branches of Boots selling everything - are very much a relic of the 90s economy.

Some of them are now as redundant as a phone card, but less disposable.

Our Debenhams in Nottingham is a really prominent listed building, it's awful to think of it going but it was another under invested building, a warren of buildings knocked together with dusty corners and staircases everywhere. I expect the way the business was financed took funds out of it. John Lewis is the last department store standing, House of Fraser, big Co op, Alders, now Debenhams gone. I'm sorry about the people who work there too. It should have been a great 21st century shop.

I was on their shoppers panel and used to get regular surveys. My local Debenhams was not an inviting place and I often used to say so quite vehemently but as far as I could see nothing changed. However their online sales last summer were excellent and I got some great stuff.

I’m sad about it too. And particularly disappointed a company known for flogging cheap tasteless tat and with poor supply chain ethics (that’s putting it politely) is taking over.

The brands as we know them are gone. Oasis and Warehouse were also acquired by Boohoo and the stock isn’t the same quality as in the days they were run as proper retail stores. It’s all so tacky.

I'll miss being able to sample perfumes. However I will not miss the beauty concessions one bit.
I did wonder how on earth it was sustainable to pay 10 aging small town beauty queens to stand round in a huddle 7 days a week.
And they were shite, I hated getting the Spanish inquisition when I asked for a tiny doublewear sample, getting told the benefit girl 'wasn't in' so i couldnt get any help comparing primers, having a non scientist in a lab coat (why?!) Talk absolute shite at me about 'toxins'.

It's much easier for me to watch a couple of reviews on YouTube, Google search the product and find a website with nice discount code/freebie.

The rest store was very scruffy/messy /poorly laid out too so i never bothered with the rest of it.

*i do actually like the MAC counter staff - friendly and knowledgeable.

I bought clothes from Debenhams. Had one of their free fashion personal shoppers to get a dress for a big occasion, twice. Brilliant.

Hopefully Debenhams don't try the same tricks as they have tried with the Irish staff who were laid off in October. Ignoring agreed trade union contracts and trying to get out of the redundancy package agreed by them. Theres been pickets outside the stores.

Hi feel nostalgic about it too. Haven’t been in for years as an adult but have very fond memories of entire Saturday mornings spent in their with my friends in my late teens/early twenties. It was seen as the place with something for everyone so we could easily spend a couple of hours, looking at make-up for one friend, then trying on dresses for me, then buying boxers for our boyfriends etc. Then of course finish up with tea and cake from the cafe!

Sad for all the people who have lost their jobs but like others have said, the offerings were just a bit rubbish at the end, and plenty of teenager fashion places have sprung up since I was young, so there wasn’t really a place for Debenhams any more.

I'm mid 30d. I used Debenhams for two things

1. Evening dresses. I needed them regularly. And with pregnancy, breastfeeding, weight loss etc I changed size a lot... The bigger stores had a wide range to chose from. Also they did BFPO delivery (forces post) so was useful for abroad.
2. Bluezoo younger girls range. Cotton jersey dresses in lots of colours and fabrics. Bright leggings. Jeans that fitted my DD. The older girls range wasn't as good, but still the jeans and leggings.

It's sad to see another big store go. Growing up, local town had M&S, BHS, C&A, Debenhams, Mothercare, HMV, ToysRUs, and lots of the smaller stores. It's got M&S and Primark now.

I loved their children range so bought lots for DD in the sales but the shops were never laid out nicely and with a good flow, the presentation of the stock a nightmare, staff often unfriendly and the Oxford Street store was a disaster to find anything.

They never knew what they wanted to be. The age of the big department stores is coming to an end, John Lewis may survive a bit longer as they are better customer service wise, the layout is better, they concentrate on the larger stores and are more upmarket than the mix of price ranges Debenhams had.

Debenhams had too many close calls over the years, they were doomed as they never thought about re-vamping properly.

M&S just hangs on with their food hall, school uniform, fairly ok children and men selection and ladies knickers. I haven't bought anything aside from socks and knickers for myself in decades there.

Boohoo bought Karen Miller too.

I liked Debenham cafe, at least the one in my former town. Was so clean and peaceful, everyone was friendly and went about their business in a calm, professional manner, not looking rushed and irritated. I liked the shop too as it had the same atmosphere.

The one in Oxford Street (I think, only went there once with a friend) was manic with what felt like disco lights and frenzied shoppers and staff.

I've only shopped from them online a few times in I-don't-know-how-many years.

Karen Millen not Miller (autocorrect).

Clothes , aside. I wonder how the cosmetics companies who have concessions in them will get there products to the market. It will be a shame not to be able to go in and check out a shade of a spray of perfume to try.

It's there own fault. It's a shame that the high street is dying on its arse but the shops have only themselves to blame. Woolworths, BHS, Zavvi (remember them?) have all gone tits up over the past 15 years or so, largely because they didn't even try to attempt to compete on pricing. I probably go into Debenhams once a month (in usual non-Covid times) but I reckon in the past couple of years the only thing I bought was a discounted novelty bottle opener in last year's January sales.

I'm just looking at their Winter sale and you can't filter by size?

Pretty basic oversight...

M and S will just run the food halls in towns and eventually , in a few years time, clothes and homewares will all be online. Just a wild guess but I can see this as the future for them.
Their food is still popular, clothes not so much.

I feel for the staff but it went right downhill over the last few years
I used to buy a lot from there 15-20 years ago, loved some of the Designers at Debenhams range but recently I used to go it and come straight back out as it all looked a bit sad or not go in at all

@TreacleHart

Clothes , aside. I wonder how the cosmetics companies who have concessions in them will get there products to the market. It will be a shame not to be able to go in and check out a shade of a spray of perfume to try.

There’s still Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, John Lewis, Space NK, HOF, Liberty London etc that largely sell the same brands. Many brands have their own stores such as Mac.

Even Boots has a better range of cosmetics/fragrance than Debenhams. They stock high end brands these days.

I'm with you. Anything by that group. Absolutely vile.

(In response to a PP, who clearly understands business, pointing out that Boohoo.com, who have bought the Debenhams brands but not the stock and who won’t be taking over the leases or the staff, aren’t known for their high ethical standards)

Here’s where it goes a bit wrong...

It should be mandatory to retain a % of staff/stock/real estate in these deals for a period of time.

Why? You do realise that nobody would touch Debenhams or any business in similar circumstances if this were the case?

Debenhams failed for a reason. What buyer wants to take on massive expensive lease liabilities ‘for a period of time’ and 12,000 furloughed staff for whom NI, pension contributions etc still need to be paid?

At least the sale of the brand names will raise some money and ensure that some creditors are paid.

All those clothes and hardware that will likely be destroyed. How wasteful and detrimental to the environment.

No, they will most likely go to TK Maxx and other discounters if they still haven’t sold post liquidation. The liquidators will reopen the stores and get rid of most of the stock that way.

There’s still Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, John Lewis, Space NK, HOF, Liberty London etc that largely sell the same brands. Many brands have their own stores such as Mac.

Not in provincial towns and smaller cities there's not.
Just Boots.

The shop assistants in my local Debenhams were snooty. Just weird and unhelpful. I stopped shopping there as it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
I shop online now anyway. I work ft, I can’t stand the crowds of a weekend, they usually don’t have my sizes in everything (bras, shoes and clothes) and paying for parking is astronomical. I’d rather order online and get free delivery. I know my sizes and if I don’t like it I’ll send it back.

The shop assistants in my local Debenhams were snooty. Just weird and unhelpful.

They were generally lovely and helpful in my local one.