Fenwick unveils plans for £40m investment in Newcastle flagship

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Fenwick has revealed plans for a £40m multi-year investment in its Newcastle flagship store as it celebrates its 140th anniversary.

The upgrades to the store will be carried out in phases over the next five years.

John Edgar Fenwick Chief Executive

John Edgar said the store is ‘a major icon in the community’

Over the next 18 months, Fenwick will begin a complete renovation of the beauty hall and the fragrance and accessories departments on the ground floor. The store will open up the halls located around the escalators.

“The investment will ultimately be across the store full stop,” chief executive John Edgar told Retail Week. “The main reason why you do the ground floor is that’s frankly where the bulk of your business is taken.”

The investment marks the next stage in the renovations that began last year, which saw Fenwick upgrade the facade of the building, while the department store group has also invested in its online offering over the pandemic, offering click and collect and virtual personal shopping services.

It will work closely with Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Initiative to support the regeneration of the city.

“It is a significant investment – I think it is part of giving Newcastle what it deserves,” Edgar said. “It’s where our business started, it’s our biggest store by some degree. We’re a major icon in the community.”

”We always invest in our stores but we think it’s time to make a step-change and really redefine what good looks like in terms of the retail landscape, at least in Newcastle city centre.”

To mark its 140th anniversary, Fenwick has launched a series of fashion collaborations featuring exclusive pieces from brands such as Edeline Lee, Rixo, Paul Smith and Fred Perry. It will host a live circus at the flagship and will also open a restaurant, Cafe 140, as well as an exhibition of items from the Fenwick archive.

Both the cafe and the exhibition will remain open for the rest of the year.

Recent reports have suggested that Fenwick was considering a sale of its Bond Street location in London. Edgar was quick to downplay those suggestions: “Way before my time, people make offers all the time. It’s a prime piece of retail. It’s in the public record, we have planning permission to develop above that store.

“Quite often, people put two and two together and come up with a different number.”