Another week, another casualty on our high streets – this time it’s House of Fraser. We know what you’re thinking: ‘Wait, didn’t that disappear years ago?’. Well, it did go bust way back in 2018 and has gradually been closing stores ever since, including a bunch in August and September, despite being bought out of administration by billionaire Mike Ashley.
House of Fraser still has 33 locations around the country and employs over 17,000 people. But it might be about to undergo some major changes. So major, in fact, that the House of Fraser we know and love may disappear completely.
Michael Murray, Fraser Group’s chief exec (and Ashley’s son-in-law) recently told the Telegraph: ‘House of Fraser was a broken business when we bought it. We’ve completely changed the operating model. It was mostly concession, the stores were way too big, they were under-invested.’
Fraser’s Group also owns big brands including Sports Direct, Jack Wills and GAME and has seen annual sales rise by 15.8 percent. Murray added: ‘Our future vision is that House of Fraser will diminish and Frasers will grow. We’ve just been obsessing over really building what Frasers should be and working towards that answer.’
Is the UK high street really dying?
The past few years have been pretty dismal for British high streets. Throughout it all, Time Out has been keeping a close eye on all the comings and goings of some of our most beloved stores.
Perhaps the biggest loss so far has been Wilkos, which went bust in the summer. You can find out all about that here. And here’s our full breakdown of highstreet chains closing down over the rest of this year, including Boots and Clinton Cards.
Did you see that Next is closing 11 stores in the UK by the end of 2023?
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