HoF's planned Fraser's chain to feature upscale dining to drive footfall

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 19, 2019

House of Fraser is seeking to boost the flagging appeal of its business by adding to the experience element on offer and Mike Ashley, the boss of its parent company Sports Direct, has reportedly hired restaurant property experts to help with this. They’ve been tasked with finding celebrity chefs and upscale restaurants to open concessions in its planned high-end stores chain.

Ashley is planning a new mini chain of designer label-focused shops called Frasers that should be a major channel for luxury fashion brands and prestige beauty, and he wants the dining offer in those shops to complement the upscale experience.

It’s all part of the company’s often-mentioned aim of turning HoF overall into the “Harrods of the high street” and is seen as a crucial weapon in the battle to get more visitor traffic to the company’s fashion, beauty and interiors floors.

The Evening Standard said on Friday that property agent CDG Leisure has just been appointed to oversee the food and beverage strategy for the planned chain of 30 Frasers shops that should launch in the next five years.

CDG said it’s already talking to "a number of superb concepts including artisan coffee operators, celebrity chefs, food markets, juice bars and competitive leisure operators for this exciting project.”

Given that the dining-out sector is as challenged as the fashion retail sector is at present, the company also said that it’s looking to sign deals based on turnover rather than fixed rents.