Opinion: What Mike Ashley needs to do with House of Fraser

The reason shoppers deserted House of Fraser, leaving it ready to be snapped up by Sports Direct, is actually simple: it doesn’t feel like a House of Fraser.

Wander around the Oxford Street flagship, or Jenners, which serves the same function in Edinburgh, or perhaps the Glasgow outpost on Buchanan Street and they are all different.

“Ashley has lately proved adept at imbuing large spaces with character and a sense of being part of a greater whole”

In the normal scheme of things this might not be too much of a problem – because thanks to a combination of design and fit-out you would probably still know where you are. Not so with House of Fraser, which must surely be the ultimate ‘house of brands’.

These are stores that chock-full of branded merchandise but that feel devoid of character. Walking around a House of Fraser store is a matter of touring a department store everyman. The anonymity of the experience is so total that if you were led blindfolded into one of these emporia it would be a struggle to work out where you were.

This is the problem that confronts Ashley as he attempts to turn his £90m purchase into the “Harrods of the high street”.

Empty experience

In fairness, he has lately proved adept at imbuing large spaces with character and a sense of being part of a greater whole. The Sports Direct store at Thurrock, part of the bid to make that chain “the Selfridges of Sport” is a case in point. Visitors to this shop will know where they are but will also feel  they are somewhere that reflects the name over the door and what it represents, as well as being in a sports and athleisure environment.

The point is not whether we are witnessing the death of the department store, but whether ‘house of brands’ retailing is relevant any more. ‘Branded house’ department stores – think Liberty, John Lewis or Selfridges – are instantly recognisable and still have a part to play in the retail pantheon.

But just filling a space with brands and nothing more is surely the ultimate empty experience – brands are everywhere, so what’s the point?

Ashley’s task must be to give his new acquisition ‘House of Fraser-ness’, whatever size the store portfolio ends up being.

If shoppers can walk into a House of Fraser branch, know where they are and feel good about it, then a remarkable change will have been wrought and success may follow.