Kendalls, Manchester

Kendals

Kendals (only 1 'L' not 2 as Ciao have put!) is one of Manchester's old department stores. It is owned and operated by House of Fraser and is the largest department store in Manchester and is very centrally located. It offers a good range of items and always has some great buys in sale season (after Christmas and the summer)

Location?

Kendals is located on Deansgate and is right in the heart of the city and near to other shopping areas. Within a five minute walk of Kendals you will find other massive names such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Marks and Spencer.

If you are driving form outside of Manchester then Deansgate is well signposted once you approach the city centre and Kendals is clearly visible. Car parks are well signposted throughout the city centre and Kendals has its own designated car park behind the store. Be aware that this car park is really well located for Kendals but it is VERY expensive (over £7 for 3 hours...) There are lots of alternative and cheaper car parks around the city. Deansgate is on all major bus routes and trains stop at Victoria train station which is less than a five minutes walk from Kendals.

What's there?

As you would imagine Kendals sells just about everything, but here is a summary of the main items you can find!:

Perfumes/cosmetics:
Ground floor
A very wide range of all perfumery and cosmetic items tat you will need. They offer a good range of special offers on makes and have selected fragrances making special appearances here (ie special displays etc). On the ground floor you will also find a wide range of leather good including Burberry and Fiorelli.

Men's clothes:
Lower ground floor and annex:
Here you will find everything for the modern man and they stock a massive selection of designer casual makes include Ralph Lauren (now mini store), Fahri, Paul Smith, DKNY and French Connection.

If you walk through to the annex you will find a wide selection of 'trendy' makes that offer more way out and modern clothing.

They also offer a very good formal wear selection which offers a good range of work wear including suits by Jaegar and YSL and a good shoe department.

Women's wear.
Women's wear is split over three floor which does tell you they offer rather a lot of the stuff at Kendals!

One the first floor you will find clothing for younger women including makes such as French Connection, Oasis, Levis and Diesel etc. Not sure if it is me getting older but it always seems to be very noisy on this floor! They always have younger shop assistants on this floor and they are very knowledgeable about the products they are selling

On the second and third floor they have clothing for older women and I have never really ventured on these floors but I believe that they offer a very good range of clothing and shoes! (Children's wear is also on the third floor and stock mini versions of clothing most adults would love!!)

For the home:
4/5/6 floors

Home goods is where Kendals comes into its own I think as it is such a large store that it is able to carry a very wide range items. Electrical good etc are on the 6th floor and all the main makes are offered here including the latest technology including TVs, videos, DVDs and music systems.

For furniture they offer everything from bedrooms down to lighting and carpets over 3 floors in the store. They have a great range of items for every room in the home. I have just refurbished two bedrooms and bought most items from here: although items are not cheap the store offers quality products and a good money back/exchange policy.

Seasonal items are also popular and they stock a great range of items for Christmas including speciality plates to massive trees!

Where to eat?

There are four cafe/restaurants throughout the store. My favourite is the ground floor coffee shop which offers a great range of sandwiches and pastries and serves excellent coffee. It's very fast service so ideal for lunch times when you are working or even shopping and don't have much time!

Best buys?

The best way to save money shopping here is to have a House of Fraser recognition card. This is like a store card on which you can collect points that then save you money when shopping in store.

They also have quite a number of 10% off days which are great for saving money on larger items such as furniture or more expensive items of clothing. They also offer additional sale discounts as well.

Who's it for?
Kendals definitely caters for the upper end of the clothing market but the store is interesting to walk around and browse and pick up some clothing ideas or ides for your house. Although some people say that the prices are expensive they are no more expensive for the same makes elsewhere and Kendal's does offer a very good range of items as well as knowledgeable and helpful staff.

It's certainly worth a visit!!