Department Stores and Shopping Malls in Bournemouth

Introduction:

Shopping Malls and Department Stores are of great cultural significance across the world, and, of course Bournemouth is no exception to this. Bournemouth is home to many Department Stores and shopping malls, including the St Peters Quarter, The Sovereign Shopping Centre, The Avenue Shopping Centre, and The Royal Arcade, as the shopping malls, and the main department store being Debenhams.

History of malls:

Why are malls and shopping centres of such a cultural significance? The main reason malls and shopping centres have always been massive parts of society and culture is due to the massive rise of consumerism across the World. It’s extremely easy to go into a shopping centre, to look around at the massive selection of consumer goods across all of the shops and to find more than one thing that you want to purchase. Most shopping malls also focus strongly into the fashion market with the shops that are usually inside, along with cafes being some of the most common shops to see. The convenience of malls, rise of consumerism and amount of advertising seen in common places, leading to more people to desire the consumer goods sold in malls are some of the reasons why malls and shopping centres are such a key piece of culture across the World, and why there are so many around today. The rise of department stores is for the same reason as the rise of shopping malls across the world, simply due to the convenience of them, and mass rise of consumerism.

Importance of malls:

Along with malls having a huge effect on the consumerism in our society, they are also extremely important part of the social aspect of our lives, especially for younger generations. Think about how many times that you’ve seen a group of teenagers in a shopping mall, socialising. For them it’s a very important part of their lives, as it allows them a very convenient place to all meet up, it is a key focal point to many, and an easy place to spend their money on the extremely wide selection of items available to them, along with taking a break from whatever may be draining them on their day to day life, maybe exam stress, or general stress from school.

History of department stores in Bournemouth:

Back in 1915, the Debenhams opened in The Square in Bournemouth, under a different name and brand. Back then it was called “Bobby & Co”, and it wasn’t the first department store opened in Bournemouth. In 1871, Frederick Bright sold needlework and wool at the arcade. Bright’s of Bournemouth expanded, and eventually became a House of Fraser. However Bobby & Co remained as Bobby & Co for over 50 years, only becoming part of the Debenhams group, being rebranded in 1972 as the Debenhams we know today. However in more recent times the future of both department stores, the Debenhams and the House of Fraser have been very uncertain, as in 2019, the House of Fraser was due to close, however ended up remaining open when Mike Ashley’s (Chief Executive of Sports Direct) company brought the business. The Debenhams closure and rescue talks have been in more recent history, being in December 2020, so it’s still very uncertain for the business. The reactions to hearing about the potential closure of the Debenhams in The Square have been fearful, as people worry that without the Debenhams that has dominated shopping on The Square for over a century, that people would be driven away from The Square, and there would be less reason for people to go there as that focal point of socialisation has been closed. Not only are there worries about the impact on The Square that the Debenhams closing will have, there are also concerns from workers as if the Debenhams were to close, they would be out of their jobs.

Future of malls and department stores:

Malls and department stores will only continue grow as our economy does, consumerism rising further means more need for convenience in the way of shopping centres and department stores, along with more money being put into advertisements all around the world, meaning more people going out to spend their money at these massive areas with lots of shops and a huge selection of items to choose from. Also in the near future, there is likely to be a massive resurgence in the social aspect of shopping centres due to the current lockdown across Britain, people are aching to get back out there and start socialising again, and with how much of a key focal point shopping malls are for social activities, there will definitely be a big growth in shopping centres due to the social aspect coming back after being gone for so long. The expansion of malls and department stores coming in the near future is already apparent, as the Debenhams in The Square in Bournemouth already has plans to open a rooftop bar tea lounge, with new terraced seating areas, a tea lounge, along with complete refurbishment of the inside of the building. The future of the Sovereign shopping centre has already been planned by the council, and that is to replace the shopping centre with new housing developments, along with bringing back the Royal Arcade as a new work space, and a new public square entirely, with a dedicated programme of festivals and events.