WATCH: Drone fly through of flagship new Harvey Norman store at Merry Hill Shopping Centre

New drone footage released by Merry Hill Shopping Centre shows the scale of two huge new developments which have taken the place of a former department store at its Brierley Hill site.

The huge new XF Gym opened in the upper mall at Merry Hill last week, joining fellow UK retail debutant Harvey Norman in revitalising over 100,000 square feet of space left by the former Debenhams store which closed in 2021.

Australian lifestyle, technology and home appliance retailer Harvey Norman has over 300 stores in eight countries across the globe, but opened its doors in the UK for the first time at Merry Hill in October. 

New drone footage shows the sheer scale of both developments, which shopping centre bosses say have helped "transform" the former Debenhams.

At the opening of Harvey Norman's store earlier this month Graeme Jones, executive director at Sovereign Centros from CBRE, on behalf of Merry Hill, said the arrival of the brand showed that Merry Hill was now "thriving" after turning round its fortunes over the past few years.

“The arrival of Harvey Norman exemplifies the transformation of Merry Hill over a number of years, going from a centre struggling with vacancy to one that is thriving," he said. 

"Delivering and retaining the right anchors has been key to that – most of our big brands now count Merry Hill as a top 10 performing store nationally, so finding something for this space that could take the destination to the next level has been the focus. 

"We went after Harvey Norman because they align perfectly with our catchment, and the West Midlands deserves a unique store of this calibre. Now it’s open we feel completely vindicated in our approach; they are a fantastic addition to Merry Hill, and will serve the region with real distinction.”