Dunelm, the UK’s leading homewares retailer, will be opening its first store within Atria Watford, one of the UK’s most popular retail and leisure destinations, owned by property company SGS and asset managed by Global Mutual in conjunction with Savills as property managers.
Dunelm already has 179 stores across the UK and this new 33,000 sq ft store will be located in the former John Lewis unit, which closed in 2020 as part of the department store’s store closure programme.
The new store, which will open in late 2023, will stock a wide range of products, including bedding, outdoor living, home accessories, made to measure, haberdashery, kitchen and dining. The retailer’s sustainability credentials will be central to the new ranges, including many items from its Conscious Choice range, with products made from at least 50% recycled materials, and a Textile Takeback fixture, allowing customers to return unwanted textile products to be purposefully recycled or redistributed.
Atria Watford is a leading retail and leisure destination covering 1.4 million sq ft, situated in Watford, an affluent North London neighbourhood. The centre is home to hundreds of brands, of all shapes and sizes – from small independents through to household names – with other well-known tenants including Zara, M&S, Primark, JDSports, Apple and Next.
Andrew Hamilton, director of store experience at Dunelm, said: “We’re delighted to have found a new home for our latest Dunelm store in Atria Watford, which provides us with an ideal location to serve the local community, bringing to them a huge range of homewares that is an unbeatable combination of quality and value.”
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, comments: “It’s great to welcome the first ever Dunelm to Atria Watford. This is an exciting deal for the centre.
“We’re continuing to diversify our brand mix. Dunelm is a new name for us, and its much-loved homewares will act as a real draw for customers as the store opens its doors later this year.”
