Showing posts with label Lost Shop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost Shop. Show all posts

Friday, April 26, 2024

A Debenhams ghost sign

Spotting a Debenhams ghost sign in Stockport.


A Debenhams ghost sign in Stockport
A time capsule view of old Stockport

As a fan of retail history and ghost signs it was Marvellous to see the old Debenhams logo from 1986-1991 on show at the former Debenhams store in Stockport town centre yesterday evening.

Debenhams ghost signs in Stockport
The window graphics from the 90's, along with a ghost sign outline where the DEBENHAMS letters once were

The building is now home to the recently opened Joseph James Furniture Outlet.

Joseph James Furniture Outlet in Stockport
How the shop looks in April 2024


Debenhams in Stockport, December 2020
Debenhams in Stockport, December 2020

The former Debenhams is over the road from the former Tandy shop, where you can still find a ghost sign. It's also on the same road where until recently you could find a British Home Stores ghost sign.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

The end of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

The abandoned Blockbuster Video store at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester, England has been demolished.


Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester

I spotted the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and have passed by many times since on my way to and from Manchester.

Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester
There are still two signs up on the main sign for the retail park

Until recently it was a very well preserved former Blockbuster shop - with some signage still intact, as well as the QuikDrop box, desks and counters intact.

Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester

Here's what the storefront looked like in January 2022.


Earlier this week demolition work started on several units at Fallowfield Retail Park, with the ex-Blockbuster also being knocked down to make way for a new Lidl supermarket.


Photos of the site (12th January 2024)


The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

The former Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, 12th January 2024

Blockbuster Video in the UK


The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on the 16th December 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited on our travels


Tuesday, October 03, 2023

Boom Battle Bar in Coventry

There's a Crazier Golf course at Boom Battle Bar in Coventry.


Emily spotted the Boom Battle Bar in Coventry on a trip to the city back in January. The indoor competitive socialising venue is home to a Crazier Golf course.

Boom Battle Bar in Coventry
Boom Battle Bar in Coventry - this scene won't be the same now! Can you tell why?

Check out the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

Tandy in Stockport

Finding a Tandy ghost sign thanks to The Power of Parker!


A recent post in the excellent Tandy UK (InterTAN Ltd) Facebook Group alerted me to the fact that there's a ghost sign from an old Tandy shop in Stockport. A fellow group member had spotted in the background of a scene in the new BBC comedy The Power of Parker. The show is set in Stockport in November 1990.

A Tandy ghost sign in Stockport
Tandy lives on!

The store used to be at 111 Prince's Street. It's now home to a Betfred.

Betfred in Stockport town centre
The former Tandy shop in Stockport as it is today

My first job was at a Tandy franchise shop in Abingdon, Oxfordshire back in 1996 where I remember selling a number of electronic products bearing the 'RadioShack', 'Genexxa' and 'Realistic' brand names.


RadioShack Tandy sign at a shop in Whitstable, Kent (September 2012)
A RadioShack Tandy sign at a shop in Whitstable, Kent (September 2012)

It's crazy to think this Tandy signage has been hidden in (relatively) plain sight in my new hometown!

A Tandy ghost sign in Stockport
A Tandy ghost sign in Stockport

Related blog posts:

Friday, November 18, 2022

Lost Shops - Grainger Games in Warrington

Spotting an old Grainger Games shop in Warrington.


Grainger Games in Warrington

We saw this former Grainger Games shop at the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington, Cheshire today.

Grainger Games in Warrington

We've also seen former Grainger Games stores in StretfordSalfordHydeAshton-Under-Lyne and Bradford.

Interestingly some of them still had a few bits of stock inside!

The shop unit in Warrington will soon be home to Funky Figures. It's nice to see they've kept all of the former Grainger Games shelving inside to give it a nostalgic hit.

The company was founded in 1996 and ceased operations on the 28th March 2018.

As a brand with shops in the North of England and Scotland I only became a regular shopper at Grainger Games when I moved to Stockport in 2016. I picked up some nice old games for my SEGA Master System there.

Saturday, May 21, 2022

The Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is no more

The former Toys R Us store at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is now a completely lost shop.


Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020
Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020

The unit is now home to a Go Outdoors.

It's good that the site is being used again, but kind of sad to see the relic from the past slip away.

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020
Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020






Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

Thursday, December 09, 2021

From Blockbuster Video to Pizza Hut to Pizza Hot

A Pizza Hot in a former Pizza Hut in a former Blockbuster Video store.


We had a look at the site of the former Blockbuster Video store in Newark-on-Trent on our trip to the town last month. There was no trace of its life as a video store.

It was interesting to note that the shop is now a pizza place called Pizza Hot. Between the time it closed as a Blockbuster and now it had also once been a Pizza Hut!

Pizza Hot in a former Pizza Hut in a former Blockbuster Video in Newark-on-Trent. November 2021
Pizza Hot in a former Pizza Hut in a former Blockbuster Video in Newark-on-Trent. You can see the Pizza Hut logo in 'ghost sign' form on the hanging sign

We wonder if this Pizza Hot is any relation to the Pizza Hot in Grantham, Lincolnshire?

Blockbuster Video

Luckily we did find a nice trace of the brand at the former Blockbuster Video in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on the same trip.

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!

We've now been to 27 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop near to us in Manchester.

Wednesday, December 08, 2021

Blockbuster Video in Wisbech

We found another old Blockbuster Video store on our travels last month.


A QuikDrop Box at the former Blockbuster Video store in Wisbech
A QuikDrop Box at the former Blockbuster Video store in Wisbech

Luckily the former Blockbuster Video shop on Norfolk Street in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire still had a visible QuikDrop box in the entrance doorway.

A QuikDrop Box at the former Blockbuster Video store in Wisbech
At another former Blockbuster Video store!

A QuikDrop Box at the former Blockbuster Video store in Wisbech
A QuikDrop Box at the former Blockbuster Video store in Wisbech

The shop is now Lumira Snack Bar. But between the time of it being a video shop and today it was also The Entertainment Centre. A sign for that business is still on show on the rear of the unit on West Street.

Lumira Snack Bar in Wisbech - a former Blockbuster Video store
Lumira Snack Bar in Wisbech - a former Blockbuster Video store

Sign for The Entertainment Centre in Wisbech - itself a lost shop and a former Blockbuster Video store
Sign for The Entertainment Centre in Wisbech - itself a lost shop and a former Blockbuster Video store

Blockbuster Video

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!

We've now been to 27 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop near to us in Manchester.


Lost brands

I've spent a lot of the last two years reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of my areas of interest is in old retail brands - I'm a marketer by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us. It's been fascinating to find remnants of a number of lost, dead and defunct brands on the high street and at retail parks.

You can now buy my new eBook 'Lost Toys R Us Stores'.