Nike takes 13,500 sq ft at Manchester Arndale
The sportswear giant’s arrival means the space previously occupied by collapsed retailer Topshop has now been fully filled.
Nike will take over 13,500 sq ft of the former Topshop unit, signing a 10-year lease.
The two-floor store, which will act as a platform for the Nike Rose concept, is due to open later this year.
Last year, Gilly Hicks and Clarks signed to take space within the space vacated after Topshop owner Arcadia went into administration in 2020.
M&G Real Estate and Global Mutual are the joint asset managers of Manchester Arndale.
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, said the arrival of Nike is “testament to the popularity of Manchester Arndale”.
He added that the arrival of three tenants in the Topshop space “justifies” the decision taken to subdivide the unit.
“These three arrivals to this space demonstrate the confidence popular retail brands have in Manchester Arndale and how it continues to attract shoppers from the North West and beyond,” Gray said.
“The city is home to two of the world’s most famous sports teams and Nike’s arrival will be a great attraction for sport lovers across Manchester and the North West.”
Metis Real Estate and Time Retail Partners are the centre’s retained letting agents.
Other recent changes at Manchester Arndale include Sports Direct’s decision to increase its presence by relocating from a 29,000 sq ft unit to a 58,000 sq ft store set across five floors.
Hollister also recently relocated to the former Disney Store.
The sooner the Grimdale Centre is demolished the better. It really is a blight on the city and quite apart from attracting retailers, overall, it probably puts off more than it attracts given its overbearing, dominating and depressing presence and how it sucks life from surrounding streets.
By Arndale Hater
Manchester is a city of economic success so it’s no surprise that NIKE are now looking at opening their second Manchester store (1st being on the Manchester Fort retail park). I just wish that instead of spending time on finding new retailers to add into the Arndale (The Arndale being in the city centre will attract a wide range of attention itself), they would start spending the profit on the actual building. For example, Manchester’s second shopping centre (Trafford Centre Manchester) spends money on how the building looks compared to the surround area. I think the Arndale needs to do this as well. Back to a positive note, this is good news for Manchester. Hopefully more development news to come
By Feedback
I quite like the Arndale – could do with a refresh though….
By Stu
Feedback, the TC is Manchester top shopping centre, Arndale is very much second
By Dan
The ugly monstrosity of the Arndal Centre needs pulling down and replacing with something more in keeping with the new regenerated Manchester. A good start would be the clearance of the multistory carprk.
By Anonymous
The Arndale centre remains popular for shoppers but needs updating . tower needs to be taken down though. that would be a start.
By Anonymous
I agree with others that say that the Arndale needs a refresh. Ditching the car park and doing something better with that space would be a good start. Dan – In terms of footfall, the Arndale is well ahead of the Trafford Centre, in fact nationally it is only behind Westfield in London. The Trafford Centre doesn’t make the top 5.
By Local Interest
Arndale Centre should be demolished, the whole complex looks so dated and Arndale tower is the biggest eyesore in the whole of the UK. Exterior of Arndale where the car park is and the whole facade along High Street are particularly unattractive. Manchester is such a vibrant city and a shopping destination, it really deserves a landmark shopping centre. City centre is going to look great once Albert Square, Deansgate, Piccadilly Gardens and projects like St Michael’s and others will complete. Arndale should be next in the queue in regeneration of Manchester.
By Michael
The simplest and most implementable solution (albeit still very tricky!) is removing the god-awful tower.
By Tom
I agree with a lot of the comments. The Arndale is the biggest mistake in a long catalogue of errors by Manchester Corporation and (latterly) the City Council. It needs to be demolished. What would look amazing is to replicate the lost Georgian and Victorian buildings at street level with a substantial tower to the rear. It’s just so homogenous and uninteresting.
By Heritage Action
The Arndale building is ugly, but it isn’t going anywhere whilst it can let it’s units like this. I guess it could lose a few chunks such as the Market Street food court overbridge and the car park, but the core loop isn’t going anywhere for a couple more decades or more.
By ThrBolt
The Arndale needs to be pulled down. It looks dated and is a real eyesore for the city I agree. In Europe we have underground car parks and commercial centres are built outside the city and not slap bang in the middle of it as is so often the case in British cities.
By John