What are the top 5 missed high street shops in Leeds?
You won't guess who topped the list!
Last updated 21st Nov 2021
Over the years many store have closed down on Leeds high street, leaving empty many spaces where once a beloved store stood.
A new study by Raisin UK has analysed the search volume and social media engagement with our favourite brands to find out which brands we really do miss the most, so get ready for a little bit of nostalgia as we analyse the past of our high streets.
The top 5:
1) Debenhams, closed in 2021
57% of people said that they reacted sadly to the new that the iconic department store chain had collapsed.
The Debenhams store in Briggate closed in the Summer of 2021 after selling off stock during a fire sale. The store is still unoccupied but a developer hopes to convert it into student accommodation, showing how tough it is for retail to survive in our city centres.
It was announced In December last year that all Debenhams stores were set to close after the failure of last-ditch efforts to rescue the failing store chain, after landing in administration for the second time in a year.
The retailer’s website crashed for days as shoppers attempted to grab bargains, with Debenhams stores reopening for a short period of time to clear stock.
Debenhams was a key part of the British high street, being one of the UK’s largest department store retailers after the earlier collapse of BHS.
The department store sold a range of goods from clothing to household items and furniture. It’s Blue Cross Sale and Debenhams Beauty Club was a fan favourite amongst high street shoppers.
Boohoo snapped up their online operations to bring Debenhams back online, selling a range of their usual concessions and beauty products that customers loved, with the reintroduction of the beauty club.
2) Woolworths, closed in 2009
With 44% of people who reacted saying that they loved the news about the return of the brand on social media, it proves Woolies still has a place in all our hearts.
As the shutters closed on the chain’s final 199 shopfronts in market towns across the UK in 2009, a significant piece of high street history faded away.
Woolworths was the place to get the majority of things you needed, where else would the UK turn to in desperate times? If you needed a bag of pick ‘n’ mix, a wardrobe of children’s clothes and a new CD… Woolworths was the place!
The only real way to describe Woolworths is Poundland with a lot more ambition.
Woolworths’ had aisles full of affordable impulse items that had no business in being together. Your school stationery set next to bottles of perfumes and socks, Woolworths was just the place to be.
The Woolworths store on Briggate opened in 1910, and was the first Woolies to open in Yorkshire. In 1959, the store was rebuilt making it one of the largest Woolworths in the UK. The store closed in 1987, and Woolies opened up in the Merrion Centre. Sadly the rest of Leeds’ Woolworths closed in 2008 when the retailer collapsed.
3) British Home Stores (BHS), closed in 2016
With 51% of people reacting angrily to the collapse of the brand, blame was certainly pointed at Sir Philip Green’s management of the group.
British Home Stores, or mostly known as BHS, was one of our largest department store chains, selling clothing and household items. In its later years, BHS expanded into furniture, electronics, entertainment, beauty and even convenience groceries.
BHS was part of the Arcadia Group, managed by Sir Philip Green who later sold BHS for £1 in March 2015 to Retail Acquisitions Ltd led by the serial bankrupt Dominic Chappel, almost set for failure.
All BHS stores closed by late August 2016, being the biggest retail collapse after Woolworths.
Despite not being known for anything outstanding, it was a huge part of the British highstreet and was hugely missed as many of the city centre’s largest retail units were left empty.
The rest of the Arcadia Group suffered the same fate as BHS in 2021 as they collapsed, leading to the loss of Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and more. These brands were later moved online and bought by ASOS and Boohoo. The BHS brand was later bought and now operates online selling ceiling lighting.
With BHS being part of our high street for such a long time, feelings were strong around the closure of the stores.
The Leeds BHS store was located in Boar Lane, with the store closing in 2016 after the business collapsed. This shop though is now a Decathlon store, but the BHS and Leeds story hasn’t ended there. The new owners of BHS, now operating as a lighting retailer, has a showroom store on the ring road at Wortley.
4) Mothercare, closed in 2020
Mothercare is a huge retailer for parents across the UK, with it being part of many parent’s lives at such an important time. Therefore, it would come as no surprise that 55% of people engaged with a sad reaction to the brand’s collapse announcement on social media.
In November 2019, Mothercare announced it was to close it’s UK business after calling in administrators. The company, which opened its first store in 1961, had frequently struggled to compete with cheap supermarket clothing ranges and the rise of online shopping.
Many parents had huge emotional attachments to the brand, with Mothercare being the leading childrenswear chain in the UK.
Mothercare's Leeds store at Crown Point Retail Park closed in 2020 after the retailer collapsed, causing upset to many parents who had emotional connections with the retailer.
5) Blockbuster, closed in 2013
Blockbuster is still in a very well deserved place in our nostalgia list.
It collapsed into administration back in 2013, being a huge casualty to the high street with the closure of 528 stores!
Blockbuster was known for being a place of happiness, especially when going to rent a bunch of movies for a sleepover with your friends.
You could spend hours walking up and down the aisles, reading the back of every case trying to pick a selection to rent with your blue Blockbuster card.
Could we ever see a return of Blockbuster? Sadly, probably not. With online streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus, a revival of Blockbuster would be for pure nostalgia and zero convenience. Netflix doesn’t charge any late fees after all!
But with 3.6k searches every month for the brand, it’s clear to see we have never forgotten them!
The Blockbuster store at Moor Allerton District Centre closed by 2013, which saw the end to DVD rental stores.
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