House of Fraser will today open its first brand new store on UK soil in nine years, with the 64,000sq ft space also billed as its first sustainable store.
The new branch will anchor the new Rushden Lakes shopping and leisure complex in Northamptonshire, and aside from the unsuccessful click-and-collect stores in Aberdeen and Liverpool launched in 2011 — this is the first time House of Fraser has added to its UK stores estate since 2008.
It cost the department store retailer £12 million to build, but will employ around 270 full and part-time staff and it is also the chain’s first out-of-town branch.
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It houses 17 womenswear brands, 20 menswear, 20 fashion accessories, 17 beauty and 10 kidswear. There is also champagne bar and restaurant as well as a Café Nero.
The store also meets the BREEAM certification for sustainability, and its interior features a “living wall” of plants to improve air quality.
The new House of Fraser is part of the new £140 million Rushden Lakes development, which will complete its second phase in 2019.
Surrounded by 200 acres of wetlands and managed by The Wildlife Trust, the complex brings shopping and eating together with outdoor actives such as canoeing.
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