{"id":468247,"date":"2025-10-02T10:58:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T10:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/468247\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T10:58:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T10:58:19","slug":"taking-the-p-now-shoppers-divided-over-historic-liverpool-buildings-new-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/468247\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Taking the p*** now’: shoppers divided over historic Liverpool building’s new look"},"content":{"rendered":"

While some people are grateful for the building being “saved”, others aren’t as keen\"SportsSports Direct on Church Street, Liverpool.<\/p>\n

Shoppers have been left divided over the future of a historic Liverpool building. Sports Direct is set to bid farewell to its longstanding home in the city centre in a few weeks’ time.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Liverpool ONE<\/a> shop was one of the first companies to open inside the complex, when it started welcoming customers through its doors back in 2008. It is currently having a closing sale, with discounts off most items and popular brands including Nike, Adidas, PUMA, and New Balance.<\/p>\n

Yellow signs in the windows of the North John Street venue previously confirmed the store\u2019s closure<\/a>. The ECHO understands that Liverpool ONE\u2019s Sports Direct’s<\/a> last day of trading is Monday, Thursday 16. The brand will then move to its new home on Church Street, where it will be found alongside a host of other brands owned by parent company Frasers Group.<\/p>\n

The new shop, found in the former M&S building, Compton House, on Church Street, will open on Friday, October 17, with posters having officially gone in the windows, teasing “opening soon”.<\/p>\n

\"SportsSports Direct in Liverpool One(Image: Christopher Megrath)<\/p>\n

However, it seems not all shoppers are excited about the new venture, particularly now that a sign has gone up.<\/p>\n

On top of the building a branded Sports Direct logo has now been placed underneath the Greek-god inspired statues on the historic building. The Liverpool ECHO<\/a> reached out to the Sports Direct for a comment about the sign.<\/p>\n

A photo of the sign was shared online, with locals quickly giving their opinion. Billy Riley said: \u201cAt least it’s in keeping with the building\u201d, whereas David George added: \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Sports Direct that gorgeous building would have gone to rack and ruin and ended getting pulled down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Green said: \u201cI think they are just following M&S by adding a sign. There use to be one there beforehand for M&S.\u201d Jordan Berrington added: \u201cAt least it\u2019s occupied now and having spent years and probably millions on renovations, they will more than likely stay for a while\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"SportsSports Direct on Church Street with its new sign<\/p>\n

Others in the comment section weren\u2019t as keen. Karen said: \u201cIt\u2019s shocking, there is no need to put a sign up there.\u201d David Whittle wrote: \u201cSold its soul\u201d, and the original poster of the photo said: \u201cThey are taking the p*** now. Sports Direct take it down you are spoiling the old Marks building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last few weeks has seen Everlast crew members standing outside the store promoting the new on-site gym. The team has been asking the public to join in on challenges to win discounted memberships.<\/p>\n

Last year Frasers Group, which owns House of Fraser, Jack <\/strong>Wills and many other retail brands, purchased Compton House on Church Street, where it plans to relocate the Sports Direct store.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe new Sports Direct store on Church Street(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

M&S left Compton House in August 2023<\/a> after 95 years in the Grade-II listed building for a new home in the former Debenhams store in Liverpool ONE.<\/p>\n

A the time, James France, Frasers Group\u2019s head of acquisitions, said: “We are pleased to confirm that we have acquired Compton House located on Liverpool\u2019s renowned Church Street.<\/p>\n

“We are big believers in physical retail and this acquisition marks an exciting time for the group as we continue to expand our store portfolio across the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n

“As the UK\u2019s leading destination for sportswear, we are looking forward to bringing Liverpool customers a next-generation sports retail experience with the opening of a 70,000 sqft Sports Direct flagship store featuring the world\u2019s biggest sports brands. Subject to approval, Everlast Gyms will also open a 23,000 sqft hybrid gym in the space.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While some people are grateful for the building being “saved”, others aren’t as keenSports Direct on Church Street,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,2349,18516,245,246,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-468247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-liverpool-city-centre","13":"tag-liverpool-one","14":"tag-marks-spencer","15":"tag-shopping","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115304224226384758","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}