House of Fraser is opening champagne bars in stores and getting rid of clothing brands Episode, Therapy, Grey & Willow and Dickens & Jones
House of Fraser is attempting to reinvigorate its in-store experience by installing champagne bars and trimming the number of clothing brands it offers.
The department store, which has spent £90m on store refurbishments in the past two years, is ridding itself of 30 clothing brands.
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The champagne bars are meant to cater to House of Fraser's target customer, "Jo", who House of Fraser has described as someone who is "purpose-driven and cares about her children, partner, parents, job and community".
Four own label House of Fraser brands are being shown the exit, as well as:
- Episode
- Therapy
- Grey & Willow
- Dickens & Jones
Speaking to the Daily Mail, House of Fraser product director Maria Hollins said: "We want fewer but better house brands and some of them were small in terms of size of range and turnover.
"There was an element of duplication too."
Retailers are desperately seeking out ways to lure customers onto high streets as more and more of them choose to shop online instead. In addition, clothing sales are faltering; sales fell by two per cent in the 52 weeks to 18 December, the steepest sales decline since August 2009.