More than 25 years of retailing is coming to an end as Barker and Stonehouse prepares to close its central Newcastle store.
A closing down sale as begun at the chain’s Leazes Park Road branch before its closure on 12 March.
The store will be replaced by the £5m store being built in Gateshead. This is due to open on Good Friday (7 April), offering 50,000sqft across three floors. Barker and Stonehouse also has a 10,000sqft furniture department in Fenwick’s flagship Newcastle store.
‘It’s been a pleasure to serve so many of our wonderful North East customers from our Newcastle store for the past 25 years however we hope they’ll love our new flagship store just as much as we’ve loved bringing it to life,’ says James Barker, Barker and Stonehouse md.
‘The new store is really starting to take shape and this is a huge milestone in what is a significant project for our business. Alongside other key investments in the area such as launching our concept store within Fenwick Newcastle, this represents our commitment to the region and to offering the best possible customer experience.
‘We were proud to be the first UK furniture retailer of scale to achieve Carbon Neutral Plus status and are constantly thinking about ways we can improve our impact on the planet. This approach has certainly been foremost in our minds during the design and build of this store and we can’t wait to welcome customers.’
The Gibside Way store has been designed with sustainability in mind: using responsibly sourced timber frames rather than steel where feasible, a full roof of solar panels, and a green roof that will protect and promote local biodiversity.
The retailer’s existing unit at the Metro Retail Park will become an outlet store.
