I am calling a customer right now, and my mom just sent me a message last month asking where she should buy towels now. That isn’t necessarily a time-sensitive issue, however, I thought the way she worded it sounded slightly confused; like she’d been walking around Boston for hours looking for something that doesn’t exist. I then remembered – her family lives in Atlanta, and when she lived in London for 2 years in the ‘90’s, she had a very set routine for shopping; when she came back to Atlanta, she would simply go to … well, probably Macy’s or Nordstrom. However, she was thinking of how things used to be when she lived in London for those 2 years. She missed Debenhams.
Debenhams reminded me of my own experiences with that store during my year abroad at LSE. I’m sure the closure of Debenhams must have devastated British women who based their entire shopping routine around that store. The truth is – when a store you’ve relied on for decades simply goes away, you’re losing a complete system that has worked for you.
I have memories of Debenhams from my student days in London, and as a twenty-something American who was essentially broke, I could understand why British women liked it. It was attempting to provide both upscale products (like Harrods), yet not to be seen as low end (Primark). You could get basic items, cosmetics, perhaps a good-quality blazer that wouldn’t fall apart after 3 washes. To be honest, the type of mid-range shopping that Debenhams provided is virtually non-existent in the United States; we tend to shop either directly at Target or at department stores without much in between.
When Debenhams ultimately closed after 243 years in 2021, I viewed the news from Boston with true sadness. While I have fond memories of walking through their Oxford Street location while I was homesick and needed retail therapy, I realized what this loss represented to women who had never purchased certain types of products elsewhere. These were not casual shoppers – they were women who purchased their first bras at Debenhams, their wedding guest dresses at Debenhams, their children’s school uniforms at Debenhams.
My friends from business school in London (all women) described the loss of Debenhams precisely like grieving. For example, Sarah, who currently works in consulting, told me that she occasionally plans to “meet her girlfriends at Debenhams” before realizing that it does not exist anymore. That is not simply habitual behavior – that is muscle memory created by 20-30 years of using the exact same shopping routine.
Watching where people migrated to once Debenhams closed has been fascinating. It’s similar to when your favorite restaurant closes and you realize how much of your social life was centered upon eating at that one restaurant – except this impacts every aspect of your wardrobe planning.
Based upon my observations via my London friends and extensive Instagram research (yes, I did go down the rabbit hole), I believe that Marks & Spencer appears to be the largest beneficiary. This makes sense since they already possessed the middle-market position and the high-quality reputation. Additionally, they appear to have significantly improved their clothing offerings. During a recent visit to London, I ordered some clothing from them and was pleased with the quality. Much better fit than I remembered from my college days.
However, what is interesting to me from an American viewpoint is that the fact that the closure of one store impacted so many women’s shopping behaviors illustrates how differently retailers are positioned within the U.S. vs. Great Britain. Within the U.S., we are accustomed to stores opening and closing. We lost Circuit City, nobody cared. Borders closed and we switched to Amazon. On the other hand, British women appeared to possess a far greater level of loyalty to individual retailers.
For example, my friend Emma is in her fifties and is a marketer residing in Manchester. According to Emma, adjusting to the lack of Debenhams has been extremely challenging. Emma previously had the same routine for 20 years – Debenhams for work clothes, possibly some home goods, certainly Christmas gifts for her mother-in-law. Currently, she shops at 4 separate locations to obtain the products she formerly obtained at one location. “This is not merely inconvenient”, Emma stated, “this is tiring. I have to spend a significant amount of time deciding where I want to go for each item instead of automatically heading to one location”.
In addition, the beauty department appears to be particularly missed. Since we have Sephora and Ulta competing against department store beauty counters in the U.S., there are numerous options available. Apparently however, Debenhams occupied this unique niche – more choices than Boots, more affordable than the high-end department stores. Women continue to mention missing the option of testing merchandise prior to making purchases – which truly surprised me because I do almost all my beauty shopping online today. However, I am younger and grew up in an environment where returning products online was typical.
One of the most surprising aspects however has been the manner in which this forced older women into shopping online regardless of whether they desired to do so or not. Emma’s mother is 68 and had never purchased clothing online until Debenhams closed. Today, she purchases clothing from M&S and ASOS (while receiving significant assistance from her daughter) and has found herself appreciating the expanded product offering. Nevertheless, she continues to prefer shopping physically whenever feasible.
The migration of women towards shopping for household items appears less structured. Some women began shopping at Next, some at Dunelm while some simply begin purchasing towels at Tesco. While practical, none of these alternatives provide satisfaction. One woman informed me that she misses seeing how all of the items will look together in one location. As you attempt to decorate or replace basic items, having all of the necessary products under one roof facilitates decision-making.
As anticipated, John Lewis picked-up many of the upper-end customers; however, what is interesting is that some women describe John Lewis as appearing “too luxurious” for everyday shopping. Similar to needing a reason to eat at a restaurant you typically frequent (and thus would normally visit spontaneously), some women felt as though they needed a reason to go to John Lewis versus Debenhams which was a place they could simply pop into for whatever they required.
Although there is still an online presence for Debenhams – based upon my review of Instagram posts (the primary source of information I utilized) – I believe it is largely unrecognizable. Boohoo acquired the brand and transformed it into fast-fashion designed for 20-somethings. From an operational standpoint, this likely represents smart business; however, it does nothing to assist former customers.
In essence, if someone purchased the Banana Republic name and converted it into Forever 21 – that would represent an accurate representation of Boohoo’s actions with regards to acquiring Debenhams.
From an operational perspective – what is interesting to me is that no single retailer has effectively replicated everything Debenhams offered. The market has fractured. Women are shopping at M&S for basics, John Lewis for special events/occasions, etc., as well as a multitude of online retailers for current fashion trends – Boots for beauty supplies. Although there may be greater selections overall – clearly this results in additional effort.
To be honest? Perhaps this isn’t completely bad. Several women have expressed that they now create better purchasing decisions due to comparison shopping (as opposed to relying solely on Debenhams).
However, there are advantages to possessing loyalty toward specific retailers and comfort knowing exactly where you will locate what you require. In contrast to our shopping paradigm within the U.S., where shopping has transitioned primarily online (whereby stores are increasingly substitutable), perhaps British women possess something we do not – a connection with the stores they patronize as well as a perception that these stores constitute a component of their local community (versus mere transactions points).
My mom ultimately located a solution regarding towels at Selfridge’s — which cost approximately 3x what she would have paid at Debenhams but generated a satisfactory experience with respect to retail therapy – sometimes retail therapy is worth paying extra dollars.
Amongst the women who have adapted best appear to be those that view the resulting fragmentation as opportunities rather than viewing it as challenges. They are now shopping more deliberately, discovering new manufacturers/products/etc.; however they all express that they still desire the ease associated with knowing where they can always acquire any particular product(s) they require.
While observing this process from afar in America makes me grateful for the retail options we currently possess — even if they are imperfect
