Next plans Merry Hill megastore, to include Lipsy

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 1, 2017

Next is to invest in a multimillion pound “state-of-the-art new store” at Intu Merry Hill in the West Midlands, as part of the shopping destination’s transformation programme.

The new Next will be one of its biggest in the UK, which is no surprise given that it will occupy a space that was formerly home to supermarkets giant Sainsbury’s, which pulled out of the space last Christmas. But at 75,680 sq ft, the store will be even bigger than the Sainsbury’s branch was with the space previously occupied by a burger restaurant also being part of the new development.

Importantly, the new store will include a Lipsy, the young fashion brand owned by Next, as well as the brand’s own women’s, men’s and kids’ fashion offer plus a full homewares offer and a coffee shop. The opening is scheduled for next spring.

A number of other brands have invested in new space at the shopping centre as its owner continues a £100m upgrade of the space. In the past year, JD Sports, Topshop and River Island have all increased the size of their stores while TAG Heuer has recently opened there.

But the makeover is also focusing on boosting the dining and leisure tenant mix as mall and retail park landlords increasingly realise that the key to getting consumers away from their screens is to mix shopping with leisure.

At 1.4m sq ft and only 10 miles from Birmingham, Intu Merry Hill currently attracts 22m visitors a year.