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

A first-floor series of connecting, partly-covered avenues has the site come across as a mix…read morebetween old-fashioned precinct and the world's worst mall. On a jet of air fashioned from 1,000 utterances of 'bab', it's as if the souks of Morocco have been transported to Brum, but with chips, Jammie Dodgers and betting slips where once there were figs and mint tea. This is not necessarily a criticism, but it is hard to tell what year it is. Here, an otherwise disparate group of enterprises have been brought together under one brand; a sense of unity among the rag-tag which is loosely supported by a multi-storey car park, shared escalator and website. Familiar names - mainly fast food, bookies and vendors of shirts worn by those on whom people have a flutter - are to be found, along with independents whose frontages have not changed since 1982. Hamsters, greetings cards and lots of things for under a quid are among their wares. A really good chippy is the best of the bunch. A new and modern annex, which has an almost atrium feel, is a surprise find, but it would seem initially to only serve as an entrance from another compass point rather than a source of a better retail experience. It does, however, comprise an Asda supermarket which is one of the chain's best designs regionally. It helps cut down on the trolley-clashing, marbles-losing frustration usually experienced in two of its sister stores, Minworth and Tamworth.

I have regularly visited Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre for many years. The last time was 7/2/13…read more Many years ago I worked at Coventry Building Society for 7 years. I have today received a parking ticket of £75 for shopping in the town centre for more than 3 hours on my last visit! I telephoned the shopping centre to be told that a new company has been employed and have installed CCTV. The town centre shops are disappearing one by one. Asda is killing off the shops and I will never return there now having this parking fine. I parked where I always have in the carpark at the bottom of the escalators. This car park is always empty now. I have the same shops closer to where I live and will use them from now on. What a ridiculous thing to advertise a free car park for the shops as the website boasts.

This is one of the smaller branches of a quality chain of department stores…read more Beatties has recently been taken over by House of Frasier, but I don't know if this store has yet been re-branded. Layout, selection, displays etc are the high standard you'd expect of a quality department store; unfortunately selection is very limited due to it's size Has the best stocked habidashery department in the whole of Northampton

Beatties is a really nice department store that sells good quality items and has a really good…read morerange of products. They sell similar ranges to BHS and Marks and Spencers such as clothing and accessories, homewares and soft furnishings, gifts and seasonal items, but they also have fantastic cosmetics and perfume counters where you can get advice on skin care and make up and I believe that they do some demonstrations too. They often sell gift sets that are unavailable in other stores. The clothing ranges are split into departments for differnent ranges and designers and they offer clothing designers suitable for all age ranges. The store is a large one which has two floors accessible by an escalator. There is free parking in the Grosvenor centre where it is situated and the store can be accessed through two separate entrances. The store is nicely laid out and although some of the items may be a bit more expensive than smaller stores, they often sell things that you cannot get in other stores and it is a great place to pick up a variety of goods, so fantastic for Christmas shopping.

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!!!

A good old traditional department store, part of the House of fraser chain, which specialises in…read morequality items. Everything from Homeware, to menswear, ladies wear, perfume, make-up, shoes etc. Also benefits from a busy coffee shop. The restaurant is however a dissapointment being dated and dull

I haven't been to Cavendish House for about 20 years and nor will I ever again. Let me explain why…read more I used to visit when I was home on leave from the Forces but on one occasion I was prevented from entering by a very pompous and unpleasant Doorman. I'd smiled at him and said 'Good morning', as I always did - perhaps this one was new, as I didn't recognize him. He simply looked down his nose at me as though I'd made a bad smell and stepped in front of me as I was about to enter. I asked him what was wrong and, rather than replying, he just gave me the most disdainful stare. I had no idea what the problem was. I wasn't in my Sunday Best but I was certainly presentable - clean clothes, clean shaven, smart hair cut as you'd expect from a military type. He looked old enough to have done National Service himself. I politely asked him again what the problem was and again he said nothing, just continuing to look at me with utter contempt. When I wrote to Store Management, I received no reply. I was utterly disgusted and can only put it down to snobbery.

A nice department store in Solihull, I find myself visiting less and less now because John Lewis is…read moreusually where I park my car so will always walk through JL first. Beatties does have a beautiful Christmas display and sells a good range of toys on the top floor. I had a make-over done here a while back and the sales staff were really helpful on the counter and kept a card with my details on for me, if I wanted to go back and get some more products. Towards last Christmas they had either a 10 or 20% off day and I managed to get a lovely perfume set for cheaper than anywhere else.

A good department store with a good mixture of thingson sale. Good range of clothing, toys,…read morehousehold items etc. Just a shame there is no Bobby Brown counter! Very easily accesable from Beatties carpark direct via a bridge linking the two so very easy to pop into. Well laid out and easy to understand and helpful staff who are more than happy to help you out. Also a good range of food and drink on offer with a proper restaurant on the top floor and a more like cafe style snack bar on the first floor. Highly recomended and convenient to get to.

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.

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

While on a trip to London we made a quick stop here to purchase a delightful umbrella for my wife…read moreto use during our travels. Fair price, helpful customer service reps, and a clean, well-lit store... I've got no complaints at all and we would gladly go back again if we ever visit Oxford again - hopefully we will.

I love this shop. It used to be a real rabbit warren of a place, a bit like an old fashioned…read moredepartment store. (Think 'Are you being served') It was gutted a few years back and although the building looks the same on the outside inside it's a totally different place. There are three floors (as per usual) which are jam packed full of things to peruse and buy! The womenswear floor is large with a wide range of items for women of any taste. They have a Coast branch inside and a big collection of fancy dresses to suit. The homeware floor is big as well with quite a decent range of kitchen utensils which is nice because a lot of stores skimp on things like this. All in all the store is nice and bright, it can get a bit congested on the escalators and in the lobby though so be careful.