Less than three years after a grand opening Beales department store in Southport announces it is to close. Andrew Brown reports
Beales department store in Southport has announced its closure.
Located across three floors on Lord Street in Southport town centre, Beales announced an extensive closing down sale with substantial bargains for shoppers. Posters have appeared in the Beales’ proclaiming ‘Store closing – everything must go’.
It is believed the store will close in September. The space had remained empty during the COVID pandemic when the original Beales department store, along with the Debenhams department store further along Lord Street, closed in March 2020.
But there was huge pride when a new Beales company opened a Beales department store – the firm’s first location in the north of England – on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
The store housed several local businesses including Remedy at Beales, Baby Love, Lucy Lou’s Boutique, Plaza Cards and more. Lucy Lou’s Boutique owners Gill and Lucy Harper posted a video saying: “Unfortunately we are bringing you a little bit of sad news.
“Beales store on Lord Street is closing in September. It does have a closing down sale at the moment. We are staying there until September.
“Obviously this is completely out of our control. We are obviously gutted the store is closing and that Lord Street is losing another high street store. We are sad but we are turning it into a positive.
“It is going to give us more time to focus more time on our Churchtown branch and our Penwortham branch and of course our website. We are still here, don’t worry, we are staying in Beales on Lord Street until around September time so you can still shop there.
“We just want to thank everyone who has shopped at our Beales concession while it is there and while it is still there and thank you for all your support.”
The Beales department store building had been home to a department store for the past 135 years, with the building carrying signs saying ‘Beales, formerly Broadbents & Boothroyds’.
Lord Street has enjoyed significant investment in recent months,with the ongoing transformation of The Grand; planning permission granted for The Garrick; a new climbing centre and gym opening this year; the new Saltrock shop opening this year; and more.
Building work is currently taking place to transform the former Debenhams building too. But the news about the Beales closure is a setback for the street.
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When the new-look Beales department store opened in Southport in August 2021, the first 150 shoppers were given vouchers of up to £200 each.
They walked in to look around the three floors of retail, with ladies and mens fashions, furniture, electrical goods, bedroom furnishings, shoes, accessories, gifts, greetings cards, baby clothes, and much more besides.
Hundreds of people were there on the opening day, with a queue stretching along Lord Street.