DH Evans (Department Stores)

DH Evans is part of the House of Fraser Group and the store is located on London's famous Oxford Street next to Debenhams. It recently relaunched itself as House of Fraser (although some of the old signage is still in use) following a £12 million re-vamp on 19 October 2000.

As with most House of Fraser stores, DH Evans (if you will permit me to use its old name) stocks a large range of fashion, accessories, beauty and homewear items ...
...Victoria (another HoF group member) DH Evans dedicates a whole area to modern and young women's fashion. The area known as "Therapy" is situated in the basement (or in HoF-speak, the Lower Ground Floor) of the shop and is dedicated to the sort of clothing that would have your grandmother turning in her grave. In true Top-Shop style there are huge video walls showing pop videos and fashion shows together with the shops very own catwalk. ... more

DH Evans is part of the House of Fraser Group and the store is located on London's famous Oxford Street next to Debenhams. It recently relaunched itself as House of Fraser (although some of the old signage is still in use) following a £12 million re-vamp on 19 October 2000.

As with most House of Fraser stores, DH Evans (if you will permit me to use its old name) stocks a large range of fashion, accessories, beauty and homewear items suited to all ages. The store, housed in a building dating back to 1937 is spread over seven floors and, on the whole, is well arranged.

Fashion is really what this store is about (in contrast to say John Lewis where there is no particular focus) and many famous names house collections here. Just like Army and Navy at Victoria (another HoF group member) DH Evans dedicates a whole area to modern and young women's fashion. The area known as "Therapy" is situated in the basement (or in HoF-speak, the Lower Ground Floor) of the shop and is dedicated to the sort of clothing that would have your grandmother turning in her grave. In true Top-Shop style there are huge video walls showing pop videos and fashion shows together with the shops very own catwalk. This part of the shop really did used to be the bargain basement and I can't help but feel that it has really not gone much further despite the presence of some rather expensive names.

The HoF management have obviously decided that DH Evans is to be a platform for fashion. On 29 March this year you can catch a fashion show (this time on the second floor) featuring designers such as Linea, Nicole Farhi, Nougat, Episode and Paul Costello (this is a ticket-only event and shows will commence at 1pm, 3pm, 4.30pm and 6.30pm).

++Where did they go wrong?++

So, you may be justified in thinking, what is my complaint about the store. It's quite simple really, the HoF group have turned the store into a faceless retail area - all 170,000 square foot of it. DH Evans used to be the kind of quirky store that you would pass over as being thoroughly unsuitable if you were under the age of 50. Against the competition of Selfridges in particular and, to a lesser extent shops such as Harvey Nichols, DH Evans failed to attract the young (or young at heart) and as someone very much under 50 I would often feel out of place in the store. That having been said it did not stop the store from offering fashion more suited to a younger market and good quality brands. The huge plus was, however, at sale time. The average shopper was not interested in the latest styles from Ego or Ghost and thus at sale time these goods were hugely reduced. Fab!

DH Evans also used to stock a lot of lines that you could not easily obtain elsewhere particularly evening wear and I would often find that perfect outfit here after exhausting every other high street name.

The store has now become much more like the Selfridges of this world and, as a result, has lost much of its appeal. It is like any other HoF store, full of concessions selling clothes that you can pick up in 101 department stores and high street outlets. It has lost its individuality.

++What has changed for the better?++

The first thing that you will notice as a huge improvement is the lighting. This has been re-fitted and it actually looks like a department store now rather than a dimly lit store dating back to the 1930s. The next, and possibly the most welcome, change is the addition of air conditioning. Previously visits to DH Evans were accompanied by a swift removal of all outer garments and visits of longer than 30 mins were not recommended on then grounds that you will probably expire by then from the heat. Gone are the huge 2 foot high fans that were strategically placed around the store in a failed attempt to make things more comfortable as they are no longer needed, a uniform environment having been created.

I'm sorry to say though that I cannot really think of anything else that is actually better. They have added an Albert Roux café and express bar and a juice bar and revamped the 5th floor restaurant. There is a new florists, beauty studio and barbers and free personal shopping is available for both men and women but I cannot honestly say that any of these make up for the sheer loss of character, charm and individuality of what was the old DH Evans.

The management have spent a lot of money on the store (all £12m of it) - I just hope that the store goes from the red into the black as a result. I won't be helping it!

++ Who should go there?++

If you want mainline fashion then this is a good store. There is a lot on offer but don't expect anything cheap and don't expect it to be different.

++ Other Stuff ++

+ There is a web site for the group but no online shopping (www.houseoffraser.co.uk). The website is not particularly well laid out and the information is poor.

+ The store card is a "Frasercard" and is much the same as any other store card. It does generally offer an additional 10% off sale prices at both the beginning and ends of the sales and there are often occasional cardholder days where discounts are available.

+ The store telephone number is 020 7529 4700 and the store is open from 10-7 Mondays and Tuesdays, 10-8 Wednesdays and Fridays, 10-9 Thursdays, 930-730 Saturdays and 12-6 on Sundays

 

...less