Customer Review of Belper Store


I’m an expert bargain hunter. If it’s cheap, you can guarantee I’ll find it. I’m a walking directory for all BOGOF offers in my locale. So, when my mother suggested a trip to the De Bradelei Store the word ‘bargains’ didn’t have to be said twice!

Before we set off I checked out their website at www.debradelei.com where you can buy some of their lines and have them delivered to your door! Their site also has information on their other stores.

Best begin this review by telling you where in the world this emporium can be found hey? For those of you who know Derbyshire you’ll know what I’m writing about, for those who don’t grab a map! The store can be found in Belper, which is on the A6 between Derby and Matlock. Along with stores in Dover, Nottingham & Lutterworth. The Belper store is on the A6 itself, almost in Belper Town centre and practically opposite the bus station (for those of you who know Belper, it’s next door to the Town’s huge Morrisons store). Mother and I travelled to Belper by bus from Nottingham cause neither of us have a car and it’s fantastic that this place is so handy for public transport. Nothing more irritating than somewhere by bus/train then having to walk for miles! Having said that, all the Stores do have good-sized car parks, which are free according to the website
BELPER STORE

This is housed in a huge old mill, which must date back several hundred years. A little historical info for you all at this point, silk hose for George III and silk stockings worn by Queen Victoria at her Coronation were manufactured within this listed building, and the vest worn by Admiral Lord Nelson on ‘that’ day at Trafalgar was also made here. Apparently (so it says on the leaflet I have) the vest is on display at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Ok, now onto what you’re all reading this for…the bargains!!!
The mill store has 2 storeys arranged around a central courtyard area. It’s quite large and packed with quality goods. This is THE place to come for menswear, ladieswear and shoes. There’s also a bedding/linen department, a gift area and a coffee shop.

MENSWEAR includes….
Ben Sherman, Weird Fish, Pierre Cardin, Gabicci, Oakman, Saville Row, Pierre Sangan, Regatta, Wolsey & Farah

LADIESWEAR
Ben Sherman, Windsmoor, Planet, Précis Petite, Klass, Alice Collins & Alexon Group

SHOES/BOOTS
Ecco, Lotus, Hush Puppies, Camel, Van Dal, Timberland

Entering from the street through a revolving door brings you into the men’s
Department. This place is laid out like a good quality department store, like Debenhams or John Lewis. There’s row upon row, revolving rack upon revolving rack of suits, casual clothing, sweaters, t-shirts, trousers and jeans. I have to say I didn’t pay too much attention in this part of the shop; I wasn’t here to shop for anyone male!! What I did see though was an excellent array of good quality clothing and varying discount levels. Some stock was half price, but the majority was around 30% off normal store prices.

Moving on from here (mother wasn’t buying for dad either!) we came to the shoe department. Again rack after rack of shoes and boots all arranged in size order. It impressed me that they had quite a good range. They don’t carry full ranges of anything and as I have quite wide feet I didn’t find anything that fitted. Not through lack of trying footwear on though ;-) Prices again varied, but I did (through persistence of trying things on) note that most seemed to be half normal retail price.

We then moved on through an area of coats/jackets (ladies) and then out into the courtyard where the Windsmooor shop is located. Sorry but I love windsmoor I got myself a lovely jumper and a short sleeved top, both with around 60-70% off normal price…and there’s absolutely ‘nowt’ wrong with either of them.
From here we moved back inside and (bypassing another load of clothing, gifts etc) we went upstairs. The stairs are quite steep, so we did the lazy thing and took the lift! More ladieswear up here, and the ‘department’ store feeling prevails. This area seems to house mostly casual clothing. By this time we were in need of a break (shopping is such thirsty work!)so we popped into the Chevin Coffee Shop, located at one end of the building. The food is all ‘home cooked’ and good value for money

All in all, it was a very good day out and well worth the bus fare spent to get there. The Belper shop is superbly stocked and very well laid out. There are ample changing rooms and ‘cash register’ areas and the staff are all polite, friendly and helpful. They’re not the sorts to pester you as soon as you step near any of the rails, but then again they’re not invisible either! The Gift and Bedding department was fully stocked with a huge range of gifts from kids to Grans and everything in between! Their bedding department even had designer names like Bedeck, Sanderson and Fogarty. Unfortunatley they didn’t have the design we liked but i’m gonna try on their online store www.debradelei.com .

Disabled access is excellent although wheelchair users would need staff help to get things down from the higher rails. There are disabled toilet facilities along with those for the able-bodied! The loos were incidentally in spotless condition when I popped in to ‘check’ the facilities lol.

All of the stock is perfect quality; it’s just end-of-season, discontinued lines or surplus stock. They state that their clothing is sold with UP to a 70% discount from normal retail prices. Have to say that with the exception of Windsmoor and Bedding, I didn’t see anything else THAT heavily discounted, but a lot of things were at around the 50% off mark.