Frasers Group is ramping up the roll out of its Frasers “next generation” department store format as it phases out its House of Fraser brand.
The Mike Ashley-controlled group, which rebranded the retailer’s website last month, opened the doors to its 13th store this week inside Sheffield’s Meadowhall Shopping Centre.
While some may consider number 13 to be unlucky, the 100,000 sq ft flagship located inside the former Debenhams unit is one of the largest Frasers stores to open and, arguably, its best to date.
The group’s managing director of luxury and premium David Epstein notes: “We inherited an archaic department store business in House of Fraser, the model didn’t work.
“You see globally department stores closing and the troubles that traditional departments have, so we had to think really hard about how we reimagine regional retail.”
“Number 13 gives you an indication that the Frasers model is working. Consumers like it because we’re giving them what we describe as a best in class, modern, elevated way of shopping, the world’s best practice.”
An evolving concept
The new store in Meadowhall is the latest evolution of the Frasers concept and boasts a wide range of clothing and accessories across men’s, women’s, kidswear, beauty and footwear.
It houses brands such as Boss, Barbour, Coach, Longchamp, Never Fully Dressed, Nobody’s Child and Ugg.
“As you walk around our new space you will see branded spaces, digital elements, pop-up spaces that give us a bit more flexibility,” says Epstein.
“As you walk around you will also see activation spaces such as the Rains space in the outerwear department. It’s more of a living store. The whole fixture system that we’ve invested heavily in gives us that agility to keep the space relevant.”
One major detail is that the store sits around 300 yards from the group’s Flannels flagship, which it opened inside the former House of Fraser unit in 2021.
Taking into account the Flannels store houses “probably one of the best beauty halls in the country”, Epstein says “it didn’t make sense to replicate that so we’ve reduced the amount of space” for beauty in the new Frasers flagship.
He’s also adamant that the two stores won’t be competing for the same customer, as he claims Flannels is for the “really young, aspirational luxury consumer” while Frasers is for the “wider audience”.
The group has taken advantage of the spare space to house its largest Frasers Home department, which Epstein explains is underpinned by the group’s Sofa.com business.
“If you think back historically, House of Fraser just rented out the top floors of their old department stores to a sofa company, a homeware company,” he says, adding: “It was like an afterthought.”
“When planning the building here, we’re trying to create something a bit more meaningful,” he says.
The retail giant has come under fire for filling its House of Fraser’s stores with its own-brands such as Jack Wills, Boss, Agent Provocateur, ISawItFirst and previously, Missguided.
However, Epstein is keen to shake off that reputation. “Since we’ve been opening up Frasers, there’s been less of a focus on own brand – it’s about creating a platform for the world’s best third party global brands.”
Frasers Meadowhall stocks CP Company, Adidas’ Yeezy line and Birkenstock, which he describes as “one of the hottest brands at the moment”.
The extra space also sees a Pret-A-Manger concession open, the first under the group’s new partnership with the sandwich chain.
“We’ve had to rethink how they bring the right experience in all areas. People always try food and beverage within retail somewhere, and some don’t, but we felt the space lended itself to offer that coffee grab and go [which] increases the dwell time when you’ve got families coming in. It’s the perfect component,” says Epstein.
Premium sports
Frasers has been quick to seperate its two brands – the sports retailer and new department store – by housing a 55,000sq ft Sports Direct on the second floor, which includes its new outdoor concept, a new Nike Football department, a bike workshop at Evans Cycles as well as toys and gaming accessories at Game.
The group’s managing director of sport Ger Wright explains the group has shuttered the Sports Direct that was located elsewhere in the shopping centre to open a bigger “newly elevated” flagship that boasts an extra 20,000sq ft on the shopfloor.
Consumers will recognise Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Asics and Karrimor, but they will also spot new brands such as North Face, Columbia, Salomon and Osprey.
“We’ve brought a lot of new third party brands into the business in the last few years. We’ve taken 11 brands in to Sports Direct in the last year and a half alone so you’ll just see the brand and the portfolio go from strength to strength,” says Wright.
Compared to its previous versions of Frasers stores, the group’s USC brand has been moved to the ground floor for the first time, with Epstein explaining the new customer journey “just flows better”.
House of Fraser’s quiet exit from the high street
Frasers Group has been steadily closing down its House of Frasers store estate over the last six years, converting some into Frasers stores, new Flannels fascias or vacating the space entirely.
As it stands, the group has 14 House of Frasers stores left in its estate – a steep drop from the 25 stores it had as of April last year and the 59 when it acquired the business in 2018.
The business will shutter its Darlington and Bluewater branches in the coming months> Meanwhile, it will be joined by the opening of several new Frasers stores in the next year, including in Fremlin Walk in Kent.
“We’ve always spoken between 20 and 30 [in total]. That’s the vision,” says Epstein, adding that regional “is where we see the opportunities”.
The group made a signal of intent when it rebranded its House of Fraser website to Frasers.com.
“The tipping point was few months ago when we got to a certain amount of stores, opened Frasers.com so the online offline is now aligned,” says Epstein.
“We can definitely shout a lot louder now as to what the vision is and the strategy is.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
