All eyes have been on Liverpool ONE in recent months as new stores have opened their doors and pop up shops have attracted shoppers from across the city and beyond.
The likes of M&S relocated into the old Debenhams building last August, along with the new entertainment complex Gravity Max. In February, the White Store opened on Peter’s Lane, while Zara has also announced plans for a major expansion of its Liverpool ONE store.
But sitting in the shadows is the city’s other shopping centre – the Metquarter – which opened its doors in 2006 before Liverpool ONE even existed. The Metquarter is based on the site of the Old Post Office between Victoria Street and Whitechapel.
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When the shopping centre first opened at a cost of £75m it was marketed as a “designer shopping centre” that was home to the likes of Armani, Gieves and Hawkes, Whistles and the only standalone Mac make-up store in the country. Today many of the bigger brands have been replaced by local, independent businesses, and joined by the likes of Liverpool Media Academy, the Everyman Cinema and the GPO food market on the first floor.
But with a number of shops having closed their doors and Tesco set to move into the former Hugo Boss store, it appears the Metquarter is at the start of a new chapter in its history. We headed down to meet the faces behind the businesses and find out what the shopping centre needs to thrive on an ever-changing high street.
‘We need to get the word out there that it is still a vibrant shopping space’
Gill O’Neil opened Fairytale Endings in the Metquarter three days before the second coronavirus lockdown in October 2020. The shop sells occasion wear for everything from proms to christenings, communion and weddings. In February, Fairytale Endings opened a second store within the Metquarter focused solely on bridal wear.
Gill told the ECHO: “I think they need to do something to attract more businesses because it has got such potential. The units are beautiful and the surroundings are lovely, it’s just getting people in here.
“I think it would be a proper destination shopping spot if we could attract the tenants in here and have more events as well within the centre to bring people in. A lot of people I think, think it’s closed or it is closing.
“Firstly, when LMA [Liverpool Media Academy] came in here a lot of people in the city centre think it’s just a university now, they don’t realise the shops are still here.
“Also when they’ve seen a couple of the stores closing that they may go to they assume everything else is closing, rather than that they’re just changing hands. We need to get the word out there that it is still a vibrant shopping space.”
Gill has spent the last four years growing the business, which has become known for stocking certain brands. Gill said: “The good thing about being in central Liverpool is you do get the tourists.
“We get people from cruises who might be looking for a formal dress, but because we’re a destination store we’ve got a lot of brands that other people don’t have, and we’ve got famous evening wear brands.
“People tend to travel to us and then stay over in the city. We have people coming from Birmingham, Southampton, the North East – lots from North Wales and the Isle of Mann.
“With the new store, which is standalone bridal, we can concentrate on choosing a wedding dress and all the accessories to go with it, the stress-free and lovely experience it should be. We can offer our brides longer appointments and more undivided attention.”
‘It’s trying to get our shop on the map’
The city is set to welcome more than 95 cruise ships to the waterfront this year alone. Clare Ellis, from the Art Quarter, believes this presents an opportunity to attract more tourists into the Metquarter to see what it has to offer.
The Art Quarter opened in the shopping centre five years ago as a co-operative of eight artists who each have a different speciality, from dot artwork to fuse glass, ink and pen, textiles, photography and oil paintings.
The shop also runs art markets in the Metquarter throughout the year to help provide a platform for other artists in the city to showcase their work. Clare told the ECHO: “We all think that this is such a unique set up that it should be shouted about in Liverpool.
“The artists manage the whole shop, we manage every job between us. We all have different jobs and we’re all supportive of each other.
“We need a good link because our stuff is ideal for people coming off the cruise liners. It’s trying to get our shop on the map.
“We’ve got really loyal customers but we need to try and capture the cruise ships, the people in Liverpool ONE – and that’s our aim.”
In February, the ECHO reported Élan Laser Clinics had closed all of its UK clinics, including its Metquarter store, as the group behind it ceased trading. The following month, Kids Cavern closed its doors after 35 years in what was described as “another sad day for local retail”.
Founded in 1989 by husband and wife Danny and Tracey Shelvey, the retailer was based in Cavern Walks for more than 20 years before relocating to its store in the Metquarter back in 2018. The ECHO understands Kids Cavern was put into administration by Frasers Group.
The units currently lie empty alongside what was once home to Costa Coffee. While many people were sad to see the businesses closing, they also see it as an opportunity to attract new independents into the shopping centre.
‘People like to support independents – that’s the Metquarter’s USP’
James Morris, 55, from Tribal Society, said “people like to support the independents” which is the Metquarter’s “USP” [unique selling point].
James said: “It is a more affordable place to start a business, it definitely is. It just needs to be right tenant mix for the shopping centre.
“I’d rather see them [the units] empty for the next 12 months if we get the right people in. They’ve got to be like minded.”
Tribal Society is a menswear and kidswear brand that describes itself as providing luxury items at affordable prices. The business started online in 2018 and went on to open its store in the Metquarter in 2021, followed by a second store on Bridge Street in Chester in 2022.
The brand has grown a loyal following of customers over the years, with hundreds of people queuing up for its pop up stores in the city centre. Despite less footfall in the Metquarter since several stores closed, James said Tribal Society is on an “upwards trajectory”.
He said: “We’re very consistent in our approach. It’s all word of mouth business. We’re very active on social media, we’re in the streets talking to people.”
Brand loyalty is something that’s also allowed Say It With Diamonds to thrive despite the difficulties facing the high street. Charlotte Donoghue started Say It With Diamonds from her Aintree home in 2016 and has since built the brand into a multi-million pound company.
Today the business, which is based in the Metquarter, has recently rebranded to ‘Say It With’ to encompass all of the products it has to offer for everything from weddings to anniversaries, birthdays and christenings.
Assistant manager Kayleigh Dumbell, 38, said: “I think a lot of our customers know we’re based here now, so we still have our regulars and all our clientele. Even though the centre is a lot quieter with some of the shops closing, I still feel like people know we are here so we still get the shoppers.
“I think it’s all about brand awareness. We’ve just finished a pop up in London. We do pop ups with John Lewis, we’ve got one on 1 June in the Liverpool store.
“We’ve been lucky to be fair, each year has kept growing and growing, and getting bigger. Everyone that seems to come in, I don’t know how, but the initial necklace is still our bestseller today and we don’t know how anyone in Liverpool hasn’t got one.”
When GPO opened next door to the Everyman Cinema in the Metquarter in 2021, it was described as the city’s biggest food hall. With 11 different vendors to choose from, the food market sells everything from Greek dishes to sushi, Chinese hotpot and Indian Thali.
Assistant manager Eva Arvanitidou, 30, said the variety of different vendors means diners can eat “all around the world”. The food hall has tried to attract customers by hosting different events, from ‘mini movie clubs’ to furry friends markets and paint and sip events.
It also offers a £6 lunch deal during the week, which includes one dish from any of the vendors and a soft drink. Geeta, who works on the SK India stall, said: “We have all age groups, all cultures stopping in whereas when you go to some markets it’s either the young or very specific [customer base].
“Here you’ll find multi-cultural people and it’s all different age groups, from teenagers to old people and in-between.”
Eva hopes Tesco opening in the shopping centre at the end of this month will help attract a lot more people into the food hall. She said: “I think it will be a good help having Tesco downstairs. It’s going to be the only shop that’s for everyday essentials.”
Jennina O’Neill, centre manager at Metquarter said: “Over recent years and as we’ve seen a change in the UK high street, Metquarter has transformed from a traditional shopping centre into a dynamic mixed use space, home to a fantastic mix of entertainment, creative arts and independent fashion retailers. We pride ourselves on championing local businesses within the scheme including Cricket, MQ Flowers, The Art Quarter, Say It With, Tribal Society, Transalpino and Fairytale Endings.
“The closure of recent businesses presents us with another opportunity, and we are working to engage with exciting young businesses and local entrepreneurs to drive activity and to create a thriving Metquarter once again. This is a great opportunity for businesses to open their doors in a prime, city centre location and join a diverse mix of occupiers that we have carefully curated to engage the modern consumer.”
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