Soult's Retail View

West Street frontage of Trinity Square (17 May 2013)

With just four days to go before the Tesco-anchored retail portion of Trinity Square opens (on Thursday 23 May), Gateshead shoppers are getting their first glimpses of signage and shopfit works, while the site as a whole remains a hive of activity. Alongside, the confirmed tenant list continues to evolve.

Since my … Continue Reading

Trinity Square’s High Street frontage (21 Apr 2013)

One month ahead of its 23 May opening, the names of several more tenants for Gateshead’s £150m Trinity Square development have emerged.

The most recent brochure for the Tesco-led regeneration scheme, dated September 2012, features … Continue Reading

Jack Wills, Exeter (9 Sep 2011)

I understand that self-styled “university outfitter” Jack Wills has agreed terms on the prominent corner unit at Hammerson’s Monument Mall, bringing the brand to Newcastle for the first time.

The unit (pictured below), with frontages to both Blackett Street and Northumberland Street, is the space that Evans and Wallis occupied … Continue Reading

1951 advert for HMV, featuring the iconic Nipper image

It’s been nearly three months coming, but now the news that everyone wanted to hear has been confirmed: the iconic entertainment retailer HMV, which collapsed in January, has been … Continue Reading

Plaque at former Woolworths (now Wetherspoon’s), Prestwick (21 Nov 2012)

As well as covering the long-gone Woolworths stores in Harrow Station Road and Sudbury Hill, another intriguing post on Stuart … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Iceland), Sudbury Hill (10 Feb 2012)

It’s been great to see a new Woolworths-related history blog appear this week, courtesy of longstanding former Woolies staff member Stuart Kew.

His blog, Forgotten London Woolworths, does exactly what it implies, visiting “some … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths, Newton Aycliffe (5 Jan 2012)

Headlines:

• 214 ex-Woolworths stores visited, out of the 807 that closed following its collapse
• Of those, only 12 currently empty (6%)
• 7 continually empty (3%)
• 35 with two or more post-Woolies uses (16%).

Looking at my blog, you might be forgiven for thinking that I’ve forgotten about Woolworths in recent months.

It’s certainly true that the number of Woolies-related posts has slowed down a bit – partly due … Continue Reading

New Maplin, Grainger Street, Newcastle (3 Mar 2013)

Electronics specialist Maplin has confirmed that its relocated Newcastle branch will open on Saturday 16 March.

The retailer is leaving its current site at 43 Pilgrim Street and moving to the ex-Tiso unit at 100-104 Grainger Street, where it will trade from both … Continue Reading

Poster showing Victoria’s Secret at Monument Mall, Newcastle (3 Mar 2013)

Newcastle is set to host one of the UK’s first branches of US lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret – if new posters around Hammerson’s Monument Mall development are to be believed.

Following the opening of the scheme’s new TK Maxx store last Thursday (28 February), posters featuring updated artist’s impressions of … Continue Reading

Ponden Home, Gateshead (17 Feb 2013)

Ponden Home, the soft furnishings and accessories retailer, has opened a new shop in Gateshead town centre, taking the unit in Jackson Street that had been empty since Bonmarche closed down a year ago.

Though the letting to Ponden Home had been rumoured since before Christmas, the speed of the store’s opening is impressive. … Continue Reading

New TK Maxx, Northumberland Street, Newcastle (10 Feb 2013)

Getting on for a year since the redevelopment of Monument Mall began, the first reconfigured store within the Hammerson-owned scheme is finally preparing to open its doors.

The development’s anchor retailer – the fashion and homewares chain TK Maxx – whose opening … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson website (15 Feb 2013)

On the same day as the ONS has revealed an unexpected fall in UK retail sales during a snowy January, one retailer – the Swedish hardware chain Clas Ohlson – has unveiled its best monthly year-on-year sales increase at UK … Continue Reading

Existing Mountain Warehouse store in Scotch Street, Carlisle (13 Feb 2013)

The boss of Mountain Warehouse has told Soult’s Retail View that the chain plans to open a new, bigger store in Carlisle – despite its current store in Scotch Street being in the midst of a closing-down sale.

Since I … Continue Reading

Lincolnshire Co-op website (30 Jan 2013)

Just one week after Midlands Co-op announced the closure of its department stores, another Midlands-based consumer co-op – the Lincolnshire Co-operative – has revealed that it too is to exit non-food.

However, where Midlands Co-op’s … Continue Reading

Co-op department store, Chesterfield (10 Nov 2011)

Midlands Co-op has become the latest co-operative society to exit non-food, with its announcement today that eight Fashion & Home department stores are to close within six months.

Most of the affected stores are in the East Midlands, including five full-line department stores – badged as Fashion & Home – … Continue Reading

Walmsley’s, Newcastle (3 Dec 2012)

Stores in Newcastle, Sunderland, Blyth and Stockton are among 24 shops that are at risk following the collapse of Walmsley’s, the high street furniture specialist, last month.

The dreaded black and yellow ‘Store Closing’ banners – now so … Continue Reading

New Tiger store, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow (22 Nov 2012)

If you follow my tweets you’ll know that I’ve spent the middle part of this week in Glasgow, taking time to explore the Ayrshire coast as well as the brilliant, fascinating, bustling city itself. While I love the sophistication of … Continue Reading

Primark, Newcastle (30 Oct 2012)

The outside of Newcastle’s enlarged Primark is finally starting to gain its funky cladding, as the Northumberland Street store gets ready for its planned opening.

Since I last updated on the project at the end of July, the exterior of the building has changed … Continue Reading

L’Occitane en Provence, Eldon Square, Newcastle (25 Sep 2012)

L’Occitane en Provence, the high-end beauty products retailer, will open its Newcastle store on 25 October.

When news of the new Eldon Square store was revealed last month, it was expected to open in September – indeed, that’s what … Continue Reading

TJ Hughes, Middlesbrough (12 Sep 2012)

TJ Hughes, the discount department store chain, has announced that its Middlesbrough store will reopen next week, at 10am on Wednesday 3 October.

Under the heading ‘We’re back!”, window posters at the store have been trumpeting an ‘October 2012′ reopening for the last few weeks, but … Continue Reading