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Meadowhall: 20 years of shop till you drop - VIDEO
MEADOWHALL is marking its 20th anniversary and reporter Rachael Clegg has been taking a look at how the shopping mall has changed.
VIDEO: Press the play button to watch a video review of the many highlights of 20-years at Meadowhall.
Two million bricks, 10,000 tons of steel, 98,000 square metres of concrete, 21,000 square feet of glass and 10 miles of drainage - Meadowhall was no small undertaking.
MAY 1988. Meadowhall was nothing more than a pile of rubble on the site of a former steelworks.
Within months, huge struts had appeared - constructed, fittingly, out of 10,000 tons of steel.
Over the next year, 2,500 construction workers would lay 2,000,000 bricks, fit 21,000 square feet of glass and lay down 10 miles of drainage.
Here, in what was the heart of Sheffield's steel district, emerged the new industry: shopping.
Shiny, new and domed, by 1990, Meadowhall had arrived.
The impact of Meadowhall on South Yorkshire - and beyond - is enormous, hundreds of jobs, a regional commercial magnet and seemingly endless aisles of shops.
It was, at the time, the UK's second largest shopping centre, with 1,500,000 square feet - a statistic that has been very much felt in the aching feet of thousands of shoppers over the last 20 years.
Amanda Lowe - now the manager at Bon Marche - remembers the opening of Meadowhall well.
She has worked there for 20 years, since the complex opened in 1990.
At 16, desperate to work at Meadowhall, Amanda started a Saturday job at Sweater Shop, which was, at the time, the Holy of Holies in the world of trendy jumpers.
"I loved it," she says. "When I started there was only 15 Sweater Shop stores in the country. There were hundreds by the time the store finally closed 13 years ago. We were the flagship store at the time. We never held sales because everything would go."
The idea of a shapeless, square-cut sweatshirt with Sweater Shop embroidered across the chest is not so attractive in the context of today's fashion, but Amanda says: "They were dead trendy - we'd even go to nightclubs in Sheffield running competitions. And if a sweater didn't have that embroidered logo on - it wasn't worth having.
"It was fantastic working there - I became manager and was there 13 years, until Sweater Shop closed."
Amanda, now 37, then started as manager of Bon Marche, again, in Meadowhall. "I made a conscious decision to remain working in Meadowhall. I think it's a love-hate thing with Meadowhall, and unfortunately I love it!"
There has been changes over the years, the centre has had a major extension and numerous new stores and brands have flocked to Yorkshire's biggest shopping centre.
"There are bigger brands here now and more designer stores, so people are travelling to the stores," says Amanda.
She also believes that shopping habits have changed over the past 20 years.
"I think people are more conscious about the way they shop these days. I think these days people are prepared to save up for a special item as well."
When Amanda started working at Meadowhall 20 years ago, there was no such thing as Sunday trading and shops closed at 5.30pm.
"Now people want extra time to shop – they can come after work and on Sundays."
Unsurprisingly, Amanda, from Throapham, near Dinnington, knows Meadowhall like the back of her hand. She admits: "I do shop here as well – though I don't come every week, I'm here working most days as it is."
Jane Ridge, 57, the manager of Austin Reed, has also worked at Meadowhall since the centre opened. Jane started as assistant manager at Dorothy Perkins - but it was an ordinary store.
Then, in 1990, Dorothy Perkins employed a visual team to come over from America to create a 'conceptual' store. This professionally-appointed design approach to retail had not been seen before in Sheffield.
The chain recruited 50 people to open the new store and interviewed people by auditions at a local hotel. Dorothy Perkins even splashed out on a clinical psychologist to conduct character assessments on potential employees.
Jane passed the test. And, 20 years on, hasn't looked back.
"I have truly found my time at Meadowhall to be a good experience and have really enjoyed watching the centre develop and mature over the last 20 years."
The number of shoppers flocking to Meadowhall has certainly increased over the years. The centre now attracts a staggering 25 million shoppers – a number that has, of course, grown over the years.
This figure is reflected in the fact that, in 2009, Meadowhall stormed the recession, bucking the trend with a rise in sales.
"From a development point of view we have focused on attracting the right brands to the centre in order to provide a depth of choice to suit all types of customers," says Jane.
And while some stores – such as Dorothy Perkins - have remained since the start, new stores include exclusive beauty store L'occitane and Kurt Geiger have opened up.
At least, it seems, in spite of stories of economic slowdown, Meadowhall is thriving, with an estimated value of 1.271bn.
* The 20-year anniversary, which will be held on Saturday September 4, will be marked with a string of events, including roller-skating waitresses serving Fancie cup cake birthday cake and a live performance from X Factor finalist Lloyd Daniels.
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I think these days people are prepared to save up for a special item as well."
When Amanda started working at Meadowhall 20 years ago, there was no such thing as Sunday trading and shops closed at 5.30pm. "Now people want extra time to shop - they can come after work and on Sundays."
Unsurprisingly, Amanda, from Throapham, near Dinnington, knows Meadowhall like the back of her hand. She admits: "I do shop here as well - though I don't come every week, I'm here working most days as it is."
Jane Ridge, 57, the manager of Austin Reed, has also worked at Meadowhall since the centre opened. Jane started as assistant manager at Dorothy Perkins - but it was an ordinary store.
Then, in 1990, Dorothy Perkins employed a visual team to come over from America to create a ‘conceptual' store. This professionally-appointed design approach to retail had not been seen before in Sheffield.
The chain recruited 50 people to open the new store and interviewed people by auditions at a local hotel. Dorothy Perkins even splashed out on a clinical psychologist to conduct character assessments on potential employees.
Jane passed the test. And, 20 years on, hasn't looked back.
"I have truly found my time at Meadowhall to be a good experience and have really enjoyed watching the centre develop and mature over the last 20 years."
The number of shoppers flocking to Meadowhall has certainly increased over the years. The centre now attracts a staggering 25 million shoppers - a number that has, of course, grown over the years.
This figure is reflected in the fact that, in 2009, Meadowhall stormed the recession, bucking the trend with a rise in sales.
"From a development point of view we have focused on attracting the right brands to the centre in order to provide a depth of choice to suit all types of customers," says Jane.
And while some stores - such as Dorothy Perkins - have remained since the start, new stores include exclusive beauty store L'occitane and Kurt Geiger have opened up.
At least, it seems, in spite of stories of economic slowdown, Meadowhall is thriving, with an estimated value of 1.271bn.
n The 20-year anniversary, which will be held on Saturday September 4, will be marked with a string of events, including roller-skating waitresses serving Fancie cup cake birthday cake and a live performance from X Factor finalist Lloyd Daniels.
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