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AIBU?

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Original poster

To still miss Debenhams?

103 replies

ssd · 15/03/2023 10:48

I know its been shut ages but i still miss a wander round it. And i loved wallis, and a few others which are only online now.
Its not the same shopping online.
I used to go myself and have a good wander. It was comforting and familiar. I'd buy things too.
I miss it.

OP posts:
TruffleShuffles · 15/03/2023 18:28

I miss it. Our Debenhams had a great luggage section, the tripp cases were so much cheaper than I can now get them online. I also have some Betty Jackson towels that I bought about 13 years ago that are still in great condition, the ones I bought recently from M&S looked awful after a few months.

Iwantmyoldnameback · 15/03/2023 18:50

I like Debenhamsthete was a really nice children's range that I can't remember the name of.
I agree about BHS swimwear too and I loved their lighting range. I have two of their chandeliers.

Teatime55 · 15/03/2023 18:57

I have lots of mantaray tops and bought all my jeans from there. Lots of shoes too. Used to buy toys for DD.
Always got lots from there at Christmas.

jannier · 15/03/2023 19:05

Miss it too. On the plus side I don't spend as much on clothes anymore as don't go browsing and online is too fiddly and looks totally different when it comes.

bizzywiththefizzy · 15/03/2023 19:10

I totally understand my town (pop 150,000) has no department store now .Nearest department now 50-60 miles away .

Newestname002 · 15/03/2023 19:15

Yep I miss both Debenhams and BhS for the same reasons PPs mentioned. 🌹

TwoMonthsOff · 15/03/2023 19:28

Remember ‘red herring’ i used to have loads of the cropped t shirts with the cats on and a brilliant denim jacket

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 15/03/2023 19:30

potniatheron · 15/03/2023 12:15

I always thought Debanhams was a bit crap but in Cardiff there used to be a department store called Howells (might have just been a Welsh thing I don't know). Anyway that was quite good. But department stores have had their day. I hate the big mall style shopping cventres they have now, they're stressful and horrible.

Howells was lovely. Bought by House of Fraser in the 70's I think. I remember the toy department being down in the basement, and buying an outfit for one of my Jem dolls there.
Bought out by Mike Ashley a few years back and run into the ground since. Recently closed.

I liked David Morgan's in Cardiff. I'd left Debenhams by then but apparently the store manager deciding to stay open late at the last minute because of the "aggressive marketing of a competitor" - it was their closing down sale FFS!

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 15/03/2023 19:34

Iwantmyoldnameback · 15/03/2023 18:50

I like Debenhamsthete was a really nice children's range that I can't remember the name of.
I agree about BHS swimwear too and I loved their lighting range. I have two of their chandeliers.

I liked the Tigerlily dresses even I worked there. Going back to early 2000's, but silk party dresses for £30! We'd have people come in and buy five of them as bridesmaids dresses, and they were so much nicer and considerably cheaper than the actual bridesmaids dresses on Bridal.

mamabear715 · 15/03/2023 19:37

My favourite department store was the Co-op. We had two in my city. Rarely went into Debenhams, even less often John Lewis, never liked their stores. Didn't go in HoF much either. Still miss Van Allan & Richard shops (going back a while!) Peter Robinson, C&A on occasion, Chelsea Girl, Etam..
All gone now. Just one privately owned department store in the city.

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 15/03/2023 19:41

the last few Debenhams I visited when they were open (Wimbledon due to working there) and Bromley and Croydon due to living nearby all went steadily downhill in terms of stock and customer service in the past few years.

They were bought out by a private equity firm, asset stripped and resold. We were worried they were going under at the end of 2008. If quit by then but DH was working there and we'd just bought a house so had reason to worry!

It all just went downhill from there. The company had owned most of the stores, but the majority had been sold so they had to pay rent. Cut backs on staff, no paid overtime, poorer quality stock at a higher price...

AnyFucker · 15/03/2023 19:46

I miss Debenhams and yes I spent money in there regularly

Talipesmum · 15/03/2023 19:49

IcedPurple · 15/03/2023 17:39

Genuine question for the people saying they miss Debanhams.

Did you regularly spend money there in the years before it shut?

Yes. It was so handy and had a lot of the stuff I wanted. Not sure how much but it was the main place I’d shop in town. Tbh I shop less now it’s not there. Online is a pita. We’d usually get quite a few birthday and Xmas presents from there too, DH would take the kids in to get me Mother’s Day presents, etc. When it collapsed it wasn’t down to me!

Mrsjayy · 15/03/2023 20:39

Butchyrestingface · 15/03/2023 16:49

I LIKED the Debenhams in Glasgow. Sad

It just seemed stuck in a corner

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 15/03/2023 20:53

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 15/03/2023 19:41

the last few Debenhams I visited when they were open (Wimbledon due to working there) and Bromley and Croydon due to living nearby all went steadily downhill in terms of stock and customer service in the past few years.

They were bought out by a private equity firm, asset stripped and resold. We were worried they were going under at the end of 2008. If quit by then but DH was working there and we'd just bought a house so had reason to worry!

It all just went downhill from there. The company had owned most of the stores, but the majority had been sold so they had to pay rent. Cut backs on staff, no paid overtime, poorer quality stock at a higher price...

In which location were they bought out by a private equity firm?

They seem to have remained empty since.

Actually in the Wimbledon one I did buy makeup, perfume, homeware and other items.

I just recall on a couple of occasions, going to the beauty counter there and wanting help and being told the SA at eg Benefit had gone to lunch… and no one else was really around! In the Elys I almost always found they were around, at lunchtime and it was more of a personal service. Shoppers will ultimately vote with their feet and money if they don’t get what they want!

EilonwyWithRedGoldHair · 15/03/2023 23:50

They were bought out in 2003 - you can read about it here

All downhill from there. Went from 100 million debt to over 1 billion in about three years.

HollyGolightly4 · 15/03/2023 23:58

YANBU. My first job was in Debenhams and I loved it. There was something for everyone and I loved a mooch around it on a Saturday.

Friendofdennis · 16/03/2023 00:08

They used to sell lovely girls jeans with sparkly appliqué down the sides of the legs I was always buying those for my daughter. And they had lovely tee shirts and many other wonderful children’s clothes

HorseOutside · 16/03/2023 00:37

I really miss my local Debenhams in Limerick, Ireland. The city centre isn't the same without it. I'd have a wander around whenever I was in town and would usually pick something up. Their bra fitting service was very good. Now the store stands sad and empty and it's such a shame.

Pixiedust1234 · 16/03/2023 00:55

I don't miss Debenhams but i do still miss C & A and BHS. I was always in those two. And Woolworths Sad

Bagzzz · 16/03/2023 00:56

I miss the big ones in the city centre from 90s. The one in my town was very run down towards the end. I used to get stuff from Maine and Mantaray. I haven’t looked online since the final sales when the stores were closing. So sad for the store staff and associated - there would have been cleaners etc that I never saw.

CallieQ · 16/03/2023 00:59

YABU Debenhams was dull

furryfrontbottom · 16/03/2023 02:29

thenightsky · 15/03/2023 13:08

There are some things that are impossible to buy on line.

  1. Perfume.
  2. Bras.
  3. Shoes and boots.

I have bought all of these online.

RampantIvy · 16/03/2023 06:39

furryfrontbottom · 16/03/2023 02:29

I have bought all of these online.

Show quote history

And this is why the high street is dying.

ImAvingOops · 16/03/2023 07:25

I know they could be a bit grim and shambolic (especially towards the end) but I really miss Debenhams too. So many towns had it as their main shop and now their shopping centres are derelict without it.

I loved shopping in Cardiff when I was younger and I really miss all the nice department stores it used to have. Debenhams (when it was good) was fantastic for DH and DS when they needed suits or new jeans and I loved buying perfume and shoes and underwear.

What I really hate now, is going to a shopping centre and seeing the big empty spaces where Dorothy Perkins and Topshop etc used to be - it's so bleak and depressing.

I hate online shopping - I've had a mare recently trying to buy a coat and having to guess the fit because sizing is so random. But the shops we have left are just stocking spring/summer clothes. I don't want to buy a sodding bikini when it's still snowing. And that was the beauty of a department store - they had the space to stock coats and bikinis!

Shopping makes me feel sad now.