Manchester Update

Helly Hansen to open store in Manchester Arndale

Norwegian outdoorwear brand Helly Hansen is opening a new flagship store in Manchester Arndale – its first mainstream standalone store in the UK.

The company said it was finalising the design of the 1,800 sq ft store in the shopping centre which would be based on a new store concept created in-house at the brand’s headquarters in Moss, Norway.

The store is due to open in the Arndale in September or early October.

story via crains manchester

The world’s biggest Marks & Spencer store has opened in Manchester – a culmination of three years and five months work in the wake of the 1996 IRA bomb.

Offering customers a glimpse of shopping for the future, the £85 million premises includes all Marks & Spencer’s services, initiatives and facilities under one roof for the first time ever.

With around 18,500 square metres of sales floor space across four floors, the state of the art development, which opened its doors on November 25, is linked by travelator to a basement car park while four glass lifts link the upper floors.

Visitors to the shopping extravaganza will find the food hall on the lower ground floor, complete with bakery, butcher’s shop and delicatessen counter. In addition, shoppers can browse the home furnishing department on the same level, together with a coffee bar in which to mull over purchases. A new-look wine department includes a tasting area where advisors are on hand to point you in the right direction.

The ladieswear department is spread across the ground and part of the first floor with lingerie and childrenswear accommodating the remainder. Meanwhile, menswear and a second coffee bar can be found on the second floor.

If the size of the store proves too much, shoppers are able to take a break in the customer lounge, putting their feet up while reading newspapers or watching TV. For the younger visitor, the welcome break is more likely to be found in the store’s play area.

On a more serious note, and helping to cater for every need, is the new-concept M&S Financial Services area. This includes a commission-free Bureau de Change and for visitors from further afield, tax free shopping can also be arranged.

Other special services include a complimentary personal shopping service where trained consultants can help customers find the ideal outfit in an exclusive suite.

The inaugural foundation stone marking the start of building work on the store was laid in June 1997, followed by the concrete foundations at the beginning of 1998. Construction of the building’s steel frame had been completed by the middle of 1998 with the topping-out ceremony performed in February 1999 by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In early autumn, external elevations were completed followed by three month of hectic activity seeing the internal fixtures and fittings finally being put in place.

During the intervening period M&S has been operating from two temporary stores in the city centre – a food hall on Spring Gardens and M&S Piccadilly on three floors within Lewis’s. The former closed its doors on November 24 and the latter will close at the end of the year.

A total of 450 staff from the two sites have been moved into the new store, together with 400 permanent and temporary new employees.

Regional manager of M&S Manchester David Eyre said: “We promised the city a stunning new store for the Millennium and that is exactly what we have delivered.”

It’s all a far cry from Michael Marks’ first ever shop on Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester in 1893

Facts and Figures about the new Store

- 1,200 stone panels clad the building, weighing 3,000 tonnes

- The store is fitted with 5,000 sprinkler heads, serviced with more than 15 miles of piping

- Each sales floor is roughly the size of a football pitch

- The sales floors are lit by a total of 6,650 lighting units, including 4,000 spotlights

- There are around 280 miles of electrical lighting cables.

This years Christmas lights will illuminate a City Centre both vibrant and a Mecca for the determined shopper.

Top of the hit list for shopping, and adding around 3 per cent to the retail space in the City Centre, is the new M&S Store with a vast 18,450 sq m of shopping space, customer lounge and cafe’s. But it doesn’t stop there.

Across Corporation Street from M&S is the newly opened extension to the Arndale Centre. Replacing the previous blank wall, the new double height space has created flagship stores for WH Smith, Top Shop, Dorothy Perkins and Burtons. A replacement bridge links M&S to this section of the Arndale, assisting customer flow.

Boots refurbishment of its £12m flagship store on the other side of Market Street opened earlier in the year. Firmly at number one in the Boots chain in terms of turnover, the new-look store is piloting a number of services. These include a chiropodist, free dental hygiene checks and even a midwife on hand to offer advice.

At the opposite end of Market Street, Debenhams is now fully air-conditioned with innovative new lighting. A redesign has seen the cappuccino bar move to the ground floor, the third floor now playing host to a Gold Card lounge and family restaurant. A new menswear department, cosmetic department and a wider range of young brands complete the work at what was already the largest Debenhams store in the country.

Lewis’s, across Market Street from Debehams, has cleaned and renovated the exterior of their building and plans are in hand to fill the space being vacated by M&S at the end of the year. Top Manchester store Kendal’s is to be given a £4m internal facelift.

Looking ahead

The Millennium has even more in store for the dedicated shopper, with over 80,000 sq m of new and refurbished retail space due to come on stream over the next three to four years. The Triangle will open at Easter offering up to 14,000 sq m of designer outlets including the largest Jigsaw store in the country.

The Printworks, opening in the summer, offers leisure-led retail outlets while the Great Northern includes retail units, both along Deansgate and within the main block. Also on course for completion in 2000 is Orbits conversion of 55 King Street.

From 2002, Prudential’s £50m Shambles West scheme add another 20,000 sq m to the stock, including a 7,500 sq m department store on Deansgate. The refurbishment and redevelopment of Piccadilly Plaza covers another 17,000 sq m, with the potential for creating further destination stores. Plans are also in the pipeline for remodelling works to the Arndale, with a Wintergarden on Cannon Street and a build-out onto Exchange Square.

Manchester City Centre is going through one of the most exciting periods of growth ever experienced in such a short space of time by any major city. At the same time top retailers’ confidence has never been so high, with major name stores still queuing up. According to retail property experts Lambert Smith Hampton the amount of shop space due to come on stream in the City Centre in the next few years still won’t satisfy demand, with current requirements of around 82,000 sq m, the largest requirement of any in-town centre in the UK.

Pressure in the market has already given Manchester the second highest rental growth in the country over the past three years. Rents on King Street have doubled over the same period to reach around £200 Zone A, while those on Market Street have hit a massive £281 Zone A.

A taste of things to come

September saw ‘All Over The Shop’ – Manchester’s first ever festival devoted entirely to the shopper. More than 100 retailers took part with designer chic hitting St Ann’s Square. Spectacular fashion shows were held and experts from leading cosmetic houses were on hand. Traders in the City Centre reported exceptional sales over the two weekends of the festival. Food and drink retailers saw it as an ideal opportunity to warm up for their own event in October.

In the run up to Christmas a German market is being held in St Ann’s Square. With more retailing jobs on offer in the City Centre, a skills competition has been held to improve standards of customer service. Organised by Manchester Tec, Manchester City Council and the Chamber of Commerce, SkillRETAIL is designed to test 58 different skills including customer service, selling, product knowledge, stock control and training. Mystery shoppers also visited the stores involved, reporting back to a panel of judges.

Winner Debbie Clarke from Boots was chosen at an award ceremony compered by former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie at the end of October. She will represent the City at the national SkillRETAIL event in Birmingham next July.