Clean store, carries women's, men's and kids clothing - plus home goods and a decent coffee shop…read more Smaller than a Debenhams of old. I guess another victim of Amazon etc!

Now called the House of Fraiser, this is a good department store.There is about 3 or 4 levels to…read morethe store. On the top level is the cafe, which always serves lovely food at reasonable prices, there is quite a big seating area so it is quite easy to get a table. They stock well know brands for men, women and children, also they sell shoes and homeware items.

A great old style department store where you can lose a few hours. The handbag ranges include…read moreRadley and the prices are in line with others. the cosemtic counters are always happy to give free advice and make overs. There are a number of designer type clothing bits, with Mexx and Oasis for the younger lady and some more older type womenswear upstairs. the cafe is ok. There cards and stationary is good and there is a good selection of jewellery - although mainly costume

This is quite a big store compared to the others in Lichfield with two floors, the electrical,…read morebedding and curtains are upstairs but it has an escalator and stairs. The mens, kids and womens clothing are downstairs and they have really good choices at low prices, if you have the time then there are some real bargains to be had. They also have reduced items dotted around the store. The cosmetics and perfume are known high street bands but to me do not seem that much cheaper. The staff are quite friendly too and will always help if you cannot see something that you want.

Just off the A5, near the Ventura Retail Park is this branch of John Lewis at Home. A large easily…read moreaccessed car park, leads into a bright and expansive store. There is a wide selection of large electrical goods like fridge freezers and washing machines. As always there is an impressive range of kitchenware and crockery, glassware and audiovisual goods. The staff are both helpful and knowledgeable too, which is refreshing. The other end of the store is predominated by lighting, bathroom goods and bedding. A small range of Hotel Chocolat products, toys, gifts and cards, finish off what is an impressive store. The on site cafe is light and airy, with modern furniture - barstools and more conventional tables. The range of drinks is impressive, but the food choice is a little limited, just pastries, cakes, salads and sandwiches, perfect for a snack though. The coffee is strong and flavoursome, but the prices in the cafe are a little on the expensive side. However, the knowledge of the staff and the quality of the products, will always see us return again and again to this impressive store

If you can find a member of staff (they are sometimes difficult to find on the floor), they are…read morepossibly the most courteous, helpful, informed staff you will come across anywhere. John Lewis is known for its excellent quality of products, but deserves to be equally known for the excellence of its staff. We have used JL at Tamworth, Milton Keynes and Touchwood, and they are all a credit to JL. Highly recommend the branch at Tamworth where, if they haven't got it in stock, they will do everything they can to get it for you as soon as possible. Their advice is so helpful too. John Lewis deserve their reputation, and the staff at this branch, as elsewhere, actually do care about making sure the customer is satisfied.

The cafe upstairs in Fred Winter has really loveely food (and that includes the vegetarien…read moreoptions). the man and lady that run the show are lovely! They really make you feel welcome. But beware if one of the young 'n's serves you! They forgot our order meaning we had to wait over half an hour for a sandwich and when they brought it it was the wrong stuff as they had obviously just made it up to cover us the fact they forgot the write it down! Nice food though.

A History of Fred Winter Ltd (https://sites.google.com/site/fredwinterltd)…read more Fred Winter was a 23 year old Suffolk man who described himself as a draper and auctioneer when he opened his first store on the 25th June 1858. The store was located at 17 and 18 High Street Stratford Upon Avon, and sold general drapery, haberdashery and high quality outfitting for gentlemen. By 1881 Frederick, his wife and a family of five daughters and three sons, shop assistants Clara Cowles, Frank Gibbons, William Potter and James Thornber, and two servants Mary Lively and May Morris, lived above the shop in what is today Marlow's restaurant. This was to be Stratford first real department store [the Shipston sheep farmer JC smith didn't open his store, now Debenhams, until 1870] and was a huge success not only with the towns growing population but also with customers from far and wide as is the case today. Frederick Winter died in 1897 aged 62 leaving the running of the business to his 31 year old son Fred. Fred was a skilful retailer and businessman who by 1908 had incorporated the spacious premises at 14 High Street and turned it into a thriving business. In March 1917 Fred bought the freehold to Reynolds grocery store at 30 and 31 High Street and for the next seven years the company operated from both sides of the street selling everything from reels of cotton, luggage, straw boaters to Aquascutum coats. The lease holds of 14, 16, 17 and 18 High Street were relinquished in 1924 and the Fred Winter store operating solely from 30-31 High Street, became a limited company. By this time Mr Fred Winter had become a local dignitary serving as Mayor on more than one occasion and was responsible with 'Marie Corelli' in uncovering and restoring many of the famous half timbered buildings in Stratford. He died aged 71 in 1941. The business then passed to his 43 year old son Frederick Charles [Eric] Winter who instigated many innovative retailing changes plus the modernisation and enlargement of the store with the building of Bell Court in the 1970's including a large modern extension on the back of the existing Fred Winter Ltd Frontage in High Street. Frederick Brian Winter, the great grandson of the founder took over the business in 1973 and under his skilful guidance achieved unrivalled success over the next 25 years. By the early 1990's Brian's son Guy Winter was in the business and the store became renowned for selling an ever increasing range of merchandise that included furniture, carpets, furnishing fabrics, dress fabrics haberdashery ladies fashion, bed linen, gifts, china and glass. By the late 1990's Bell Court had become run down and a decision was made to build a brand new store behind an existing building in Henley Street. The large and stylish building was completed in 1999 and has undoubtedly become Stratford's premier store. After Brian Winter's retirement a few years ago the company is now under the overall direction of Guy Winter. Steve Newman

I am quite simply a fan of TJ Hughes, always have been and always will be because its your store in…read moreone apart from selling food. They might fall short of selling food but they do have a basic cafe/restaurant where you can have a hearty lunch for cheap prices. Its the nature of their departments that makes them so popular with people of all ages. I can't think of anything they don't sell, especially when it comes to domestic requirements. Their crockery ranges from low to high standards similarly with their electronic appliances so whatever you are seeking, there should be an item that wins you over 9 out of 10 times. Not to mention, the same goes with shoes; the place is packed with them! And clothes too, the list is endless. If you're looking to treat yourself or find a gift, then TJ's is probably your first port of call.

To me this is the archetypal nan shop. My nan doesn't go much further than the bottom of her…read morestreet for her weekly shop these days but when she does venture into the city centre it will be to hunt out a bargain at TJ's. These bargains usually end up as my birthday or christmas presents. Like the much lamented Lewis' which has closed down on Renshaw Street, TJ's is a landmark store within the city. It is a much more modest department store than Lewis' was and can be seen as more of a front runner to the now universal pound shops. The key to TJ's is the bargains. It covers all sorts of quality products and ranges - although nothing exclusive or top of the range - and at the cheapest possible prices.

This is a really cool shopping mall with all the stores you would expect and some wicked ones on…read morethe walkway that you wouldn't - I stumbled across a wooden stand which had some fabulous items! As you would expect, its all clean, well maintained but unless you are used to it, it was a bit confusing, signs weren't brilliant in large crowds. Theres plenty of parking and entrances taking you into the lovely market town of Banbury. Recommended for your weekend browsing!!!

Debenhams Browns of Chester is the only Debenhams store to retain its' original branding, Browns of…read moreChester. It has been owned by Debenhams since 1976, yet the store is fairly old being founded in 1780, while it doesn't seem to compare to the older department stores in London, it still is a fairly nice branch, you can enter the store through street-level or through the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. The store is pretty old and you can tell that through shopping inside, they have random sets of steps and ramps all over, so it isn't just one straight/flat level, so do be careful where you're walking to avoid tripping. They had a huge clearance sale on my visit, due to Debenhams' facing difficulties and having to close many of their stores, including this one, I still found many of their prices to be high even after the discount, I found the promotional offers to be inconsistent and it was hard to tell what item costs what as each part of the store/product range would have a different % off. The store did seem a little messy, but it did have some good products overall and it is nice to see they haven't ignored the history, it's a shame to see this store earmarked for closure as although it isn't perfect, it is and remains a nice addition to the town centre. 3*

This is a large department store where you can find really gorgeous bags, shoes, make up and…read moreperfume on the first floor and loads and loads of clothes on the second floor. This place really is fantastic for womens clothes - like debenhams it has all the usual brands such as Jane Norman and Oasis, and it has a great underwear section with huge variety of pretty knickers. It also has a wedding section with loads of higher quality dresses. Of course these come with a higher price tag that the high street stuff that can be found there but this is where I would come to look for something to wear for a special occasion.

Not the largest of shopping centres, but it is the largest indoor shopping area within Shrewsbury…read moretown centre and it does have some good brands including WHSmith, Primark, Marks and Spencer as well as Costa, JD Sports and a few others, most of the larger stores can also be accessed through street entrances on Pride Hill. There was a lack of signage around the malls, such as a plan, I didn't even realise what floor I was on due to mismatched numbering in the lifts, no "mall staff" around made it a little more difficult. While most of the units were taken up, the same can't be said about the other shopping centres in the town so that's a bonus, the mall just had a bare/empty feel and it felt like there was a lot of blank empty space which could be utilised better. Decent shopping space within Shrewsbury, I do prefer the shops in the town centre and elsewhere, as this only consists of 17% of retail units within the town. 3*

Very clean with friendly staff. Has a range of high street stores as well as a couple of less…read morecommon ones. Easy walkign distance to car park, bus station and train station as well as the pridehill shopping centre and the shops on the street. Also has the tree of light in it for Christmas this year (2008) with the nominated names who sponsor the tree placed on the projector.

When I heard CostCo had opened a few branches in the UK, I nearly lost it ! It brought back…read morememories of the USA .. Sweet sweet memories ! CostCo is a large retail store selling items mostly in bulk from toothpaste, drinks, crisp, cereal to singular items such as perfumes/colognes, clothes, TV, jewellery etc. If you want to waste money, go to CostCo! I went to the one in Derby and although it had many items and it was a reasonably humongous store, it's nothing compared to the USA especially the free samples! There is also a Pizza Parlour where one can have freshly made pizza made by CostCo staff. I've heard they're good but never tried any so when you do , let me know! There are too many good things to say about CostCo but that'll fill a few pages. However, the negative is that it's members only and one has to be one of the following as far as I can remember : Occupation: Bank/Finance Education Local government / police force / fire and rescue service Civil service / armed forces Post office Medical health service such as the NHS Airline Insurance Qualified as : Certified or chartered Accountant Doctors / opticians / dentist / pharmacist Chartered architect Chartered engineer / civil etc Chartered surveyor Individual membership costs around £30 including VAT whilst Trade costs £24 a year. The CostCo Gold card would be double the prices at a slight discount. Note: * Be wary of the VAT as it's not included in the prices however, the total sum is always summarised near the product. * The owner and primary user of the membership card can take two people in with them when shopping at a time. If it's children, they have to be under 16 and can go in as two pairs.

Costco is great, and Costco Derby is probably my favourite. It's got everything you would except…read morefrom a Costco but because it seems to get less busy, it's a much less stressful experience than say, Costco Glasgow! Don't forget your hot dog when you leave!