Newcastle’s new BHS to open on 19 April
BHS fascia
Newcastle’s new BHS store in Northumberland Street will open on 19 April, I can reveal.
Work on site has been going on since last summer, as BHS transforms the former Next premises into a four-storey flagship store. As reported previously, the shop is expected to include menswear in the basement, womenswear on the ground floor, lingerie on the first floor, and the BHS Café on the second floor, with stockroom space on the level above. Homeware and childrenswear will also feature, though there’s no confirmation yet that the store will include a concession for Evans – part of the same Arcadia Group as BHS – following the closure of Newcastle’s standalone Evans store, in Monument Mall, back in January.
New BHS, Newcastle (5 Mar 2012)
When I walked past the BHS site on Sunday (18 March), it looked much as it did in my photo (above) from a fortnight earlier, with all the work obscured behind scaffolding. However, Arcadia’s confirmation of an April opening date suggests that the scaffolding and wrap will be coming down, as planned, before the end of March.
New BHS, Newcastle (5 Mar 2012)
Once thing’s for sure, shoppers who have walked past the building site without paying much attention will certainly be in for a shock once the shiny new frontage is finally unwrapped in the coming days.
BHS seems to be another ‘dinosaur’ chain which doesn’t really have a place in the market any longer. Its only one location but the fairly recently relocated, and very nicely fitted out, Staines store never seems to have very many customers. Matalan appear much busier towards the bottom of the market and Debenhams appear to cater for the higher end. I’ve often wondered if BHS is almost a Philip Green vanity project that is kept going as long as it continues not to lose money.