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Lewis’s Grotto brings festive cheer to Liverpool

Graham Soult December 24, 2010 Department Stores, Home and DIY, Independent Stores, Retail History No Comments

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Lewis's Grotto 2010

Lewis's Grotto 2010

With the collapse of Lewis’s and Robbs owner Vergo Retail being one of the year’s major stories at Soult’s Retail View, it seems fitting to mark the festive season with a warming good news story that has emerged from the retailer’s ashes.

For 130 years, generations of locals had visited Santa in his magical grotto at Lewis’s department store in Liverpool, but it seemed that the institution of Lewis’s Grotto would … Continue Reading

Back to Billingham

Graham Soult November 17, 2010 Property, Retail History, Woolworths 2 Comments

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Billingham town centre (16 Nov 2010). Photograph by Graham Soult

Billingham town centre (16 Nov 2010)

Regular readers of this blog will be pleased to hear that I went back to Billingham yesterday, following my earlier underwhelming visit, back in June. The homogeneity and datedness of Billingham town centre’s design mean that it’s never going to win an award for the quality of its urban spaces, but visiting on a sunny afternoon – rather than … Continue Reading

Christmas comes early again at Selfridges

Graham Soult July 18, 2010 Department Stores 1 Comment

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Christmas decoration. Photograph by Graham Soult

Christmas decoration

Today’s BBC News story about Selfridges’ imminent opening of its Christmas shop made me wonder whether I should just dust off and recycle my blog post from a year ago.

Back then, I expressed incredulity about why anyone would wish to purchase baubles “adorned with Union flags” or ‘We Love England’ slogans a whole 137 days before Christmas. Clearly I knew nothing, however, with … Continue Reading

Merry Christmas!

Graham Soult August 10, 2009 Department Stores 1 Comment

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You can pick up a pink or purple one of these from Selfridges

You can pick up a pink or purple one of these from Selfridges

I was thrilled to read that Selfridges in London has now opened its Christmas shop, and that – should I be inclined – I can stock up on “baubles adorned with Union flags as well … Continue Reading