Sheffield shopping: Melody Couture fashion store reopens on The Moor after Hello Japan fails to launch
An independent Sheffield fashion store has reopened its doors in its old home on The Moor one year after shutting.
Despite the ‘Hello Japan’ sign currently above the door, Melody Couture is back in its old premises opposite Primark after closing down in October 2024.
In early 2025, a sign for an Asian supermarket named ‘Hello Japan’ appeared above the former store. Although fridges and shelves could be seen through the shop’s shutters, the new venture never launched.
Now, the storefront has once again reopened as Melody, with clothing racks and mannequins back on the shop floor.
Boss Javed Ramzan, who originally opened the fashion store in Castle Market in 1984, told The Star in October how he closed the store after 34 years when he and his wife planned to retire.
However, he is back in the hot seat again after sharing how the deal to lease the shop for Hello Japan reportedly fell through.
He told The Star: “I’m glad to be back. It’s what I have done all my life. This was my first job and it will be my last.”
Not much is known about what Hello Japan aimed to sell. Papers submitted to Sheffield City Council by Hang Sing Hong Ltd sought permission to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises between 11am and 9pm Monday to Sunday.
However, it would have had stiff competition had it opened, with the arrival of the three-floor South Korean supermarket Oseyo less than 100m further up The Moor in October 2025.
Melody Couture in its heyday sold trendy outfits to generations of young women and was famous for having fresh stock weekly and a communal changing room.
At its height, Melody also had stores in Wakefield, Scunthorpe, Nottingham, and Barnsley.