Merry Hill welcomes Harvey Norman’s 57,000 sq ft English debut

Merry Hill has welcomed lifestyle, technology, and home appliance retailer, Harvey Norman, which has opened its 57,000 sq ft flagship store. The new space is the retail giant’s first location in England.

Internationally known as a home for big brands, Harvey Norman’s new store offers its extensive range of products designed to enhance the home. This includes a selection of luxury furniture, including sofas, dining sets, bedroom suites and mattresses, as well as an assortment of smaller items including kitchenware. Also on offer are a variety of home appliances, technology, and entertainment from household-name brands. The store features dedicated areas for each product category, including a cooking appliance centre that has been specifically designed for Merry Hill, and a range of in-store services including click & collect and Love Tech, for all technology set-up needs.

The opening of Harvey Norman’s first store in England at Merry Hill reinforces its position as one of the UK’s top 10 destinations, and its ability to deliver a unique retail and leisure experience for the West Midlands. The international retailer forms a new anchor, joining at a time when Merry Hill’s footfall is already outperforming industry benchmarks, and following in the footsteps of more than 100 brands that have committed to the centre in a little over two years.

Graeme Jones, Executive Director at Sovereign Centros from CBRE, on behalf of Merry Hill, commented: “The arrival of Harvey Norman exemplifies the transformation of Merry Hill over a number of years, going from a centre struggling with vacancy to one that is thriving. Delivering and retaining the right anchors has been key to that – most of our big brands now count Merry Hill as a top 10 performing store nationally, so finding something for this space that could take the destination to the next level has been the focus. We went after Harvey Norman because they align perfectly with our catchment, and the West Midlands deserves a unique store of this calibre. Now it’s open we feel completely vindicated in our approach; they are a fantastic addition to Merry Hill, and will serve the region with real distinction.”

Lachlan Roach, Managing Director of Harvey Norman UK, added: “With over 300 stores in eight countries across the globe, it will be no surprise that we have been wanting to make our entrance to the English market for a while. The opportunity we had to open in a key national destination like Merry Hill was not one to miss, and it makes for the perfect home for our flagship location. We’re a customer-centric brand, and Merry Hill has a vibrant community, so we are thrilled to bring both our extensive range of lifestyle, technology, and entertainment products and the exceptional service that Harvey Norman is renowned for worldwide.”

The news of Harvey Norman opening at Merry Hill follows the announcement that Hollywood Bowl, the premier entertainment experience, has celebrated its one-year anniversary at the destination. Since opening, Hollywood Bowl has helped form a new leisure quarter alongside an array of F&B options, boosting footfall by 43 percent and creating record performance that has vindicated the investment to reposition this part of the centre.

 JLL, Time Retail Partners, and Font Real Estate represent Merry Hill.