The signs are up and stock’s moving in as Frasers department store prepares to open at the Overgate Shopping Centre in Dundee next week.
Work transforming the former Debenhams unit into a Frasers began at the end of last year.
The fit-out, costing more than £5 million, is the largest investment made at the Overgate since it opened in 2000.
The three-storey store will employ around 90 full and part-time workers.
This includes staff from the current Sports Direct and USC Overgate shops, which will close and be incorporated into the department store.
When will Frasers Dundee open?
The shop is due to open on Friday, June 6. This date relies on Dundee City Council signing off the unit and no unforeseen problems.
Like Debenhams, the ground floor of Frasers will have a variety of beauty concessions and fashion items. Brands include Hugo, Tommy Jeans, Jack Wills and CP Company.
The upper two levels will predominantly be a Sports Direct, with areas for fashion retailer USC and computer games specialist GAME.
All of these brands are owned by the Frasers Group, which acquired the Overgate in March 2023.
Lego is also mentioned as one of the store’s brands on signs on the exterior of the Overgate.
Evans Cycles is no longer one of the brands within Frasers and there is no café in the new department store.
‘Urban feel’ to new store
Overgate Centre manager Malcolm Angus said: “I had a tour of the shop a couple of weeks ago and it’s looking great. It’s something different for the city centre.
“It’s got a bit of an urban feel about it. They’ve left all the extraction systems and sprinkler systems exposed.
“It’s a very modern store, in keeping with all the other shop refurbishments that have taken place at the Overgate.
“The ground floor will be cosmetics, all the beauty products and fashion.
“Mid-level will be USC and Sports Direct, and the upper level will be Sports Direct with items like golf clubs, gym stuff and tennis racquets.”
City centre boost
Mr Angus said the new department store could add millions of visits to the Overgate.
He said it wouldn’t just boost the other shops at the Overgate but the whole of the city centre.
“When Debenhams was here, it accounted for between 25% and 28% of the footfall.
“Pre-Covid, in 2019, we were over 10 million footfall a year. That has dropped to about 7.6 million last year.
“If we can add another 25% to 30% footfall, with Frasers and the other shops opening, then we’re not far away from where we were in 2019.
“It’s going to be positive for the whole city centre, not just the Overgate.”
Conversation