With the news announced yesterday that Debenhams is set to permanently close at intu Milton Keynes, what shops could replace it?
The unit spans three floors and is the largest inside the intu Milton Keynes building.
The closure was announced yesterday with some job losses expected.
We don't have any information on what the replacement will be - and so this article is just pure speculation - but let's look at some possibilities:
1) Next Beauty Hall
Earlier this month, Next signed a deal to acquire five former Debenhams stores across the UK for their brand new 'Beauty Store' concept.
The company added they were in discussions for a "small number" of additional sites, as they expand their beauty business.
Simon Wolfson, Next's chief executive, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to work with existing and new beauty brand partners to create a new force in beauty retailing - bringing our online business to life through premium store environments in some of the UK's most important retail locations."
Would a Milton Keynes store be a good idea?
2) Selfridges
A massive name in the department store world - Selfridges only have four stores (London, Birmingham and two in Manchester).
Could Milton Keynes be their next move?
3) Fenwick
Another big department store brand, Fenwick have sites in London, Bracknell, Colchester, Newcastle, York and more.
They have no presence in Milton Keynes - could that be about to change?
4) A series of smaller stores
Could Intu be tempted to break up the store into a smaller number of units to allow a bigger variety of different shops to open?
5) A leisure facility
The site is very large and could easily house another indoor trampoline park or family fun centre.
6) Something else entirely
We don't know any more than you do at the moment!
