Express & Star

New store loses Beatties name

The famous Beatties name has been lost at another of the Wolverhampton-based chain's stores. The famous Beatties name has been lost at another of the Wolverhampton-based chain's stores. Signs at the Telford department store have been taken down and replaced by those of Beatties' owner House of Fraser. This is a move that casts even further doubt over the future identity of the flagship Wolverhampton business and the outlet in Dudley. The Beatties name has now been lost at locations including Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. Only Wolverhampton and Dudley are still called Beatties. Read the full story in the Express & Star

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Signs at the Telford department store have been taken down and replaced by those of Beatties' owner House of Fraser.

This is a move that casts even further doubt over the future identity of the flagship Wolverhampton business and the outlet in Dudley.

The Beatties name has now been lost at locations including Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. Only Wolverhampton and Dudley are still called Beatties.

But House of Fraser owner Bauger today insisted that there were no plans to change the name in its two Black Country stores.

Spokesman Aaron Foster said: "There are no immediate plans to change the names of these two stores.

"While the name has been changed to House of Fraser at the other former Beatties stores, they will remain the same in these two locations."

The Beatties name in Telford changed overnight, with a difficult logistical exercise in replacing all the signs and branding within the store.

Store manager Richard Scharenguivel, said: "This is a very exciting time for us and proves that we are an integral part of the House of Fraser group."

And Ray Hoof, director at Telford Shopping Centre, said: "I'm delighted to welcome House of Fraser. It is a top quality national retailer."

This latest name change will be cold comfort to those who have battled to keep the famous Beatties name alive and kicking in the Black Country, which culminated with a letter-writing campaign and the handing in of an Express & Star dossier of readers' comments.

The historic name has been under threat since the House of Fraser group bought the 11-strong stores chain in 2005.

A massive storm erupted locally after House of Fraser was in turn swallowed up by the group led by Icelandic investor Bauger, whose boss Jon Asgeir Johannesson said the Beatties name "lacked resonance" with shoppers.

Bauger said earlier this year that the renaming of stores was part of a wider strategy of rebranding selected stores across the group - but again reiterated that the Wolverhampton and Dudley outlets were not included at the moment.

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