I'd like to start by pointing out how strange it was for me to find a branch of House of Fraser in…read moreAltrincham, House of Fraser have never appeared to me to be a brand that put stores in small towns like this one, especially so close to a much larger store on Deansgate in the city centre of Manchester. This store however is okay, but does have a really old fashioned feel to it, it is over around two or three stores and it is really old fashioned, it was the old Rackhams Department store, before being taken over and HOF have seem to followed in the footsteps of many branches by keeping signs from the old building, and the old name as they did in the Manchester branch, which was formerly called Kendall's. I came in this branch for two reasons, the first of which was to check if their was any fragrance samples, the staff members I spoke to were really unhelpful and slightly rude, and told me they had nothing and didn't even offer the use of any testers or try to recommend any best sellers, which was a shame. Especially on the Upper part of the store, it just felt deserted, it really wasn't a nice place to shop. or in general which was a real shame. Unfortunately, my pictures of the decor and feel and looks of the store were no longer on my Iphone, due to an issue with Apple which basically deleted most of my photo's from the day beyond recovery which was a real shame, but overall this store is really poor due to the selection and range of products as well as feel of the store, it feels too old-fashioned and not a nice place to shop and in a way this store is irrelevant with Altrincham being such a small town just around a half hour drive from a much larger branch in Manchester, a much larger city.

Debenhams in Altrincham was a rather nice store and its closure is certainly a loss to Altrincham's…read moretown centre, reviewing a store which has since closed might be seen as irrelevant but I do hope this will still be of use to the brand which could be helpful for their other stores as Debenhams remains one of the largest department store chains in the UK. Despite the store is small, they still had a good selection for the size including multiple makeups and beauty counters, without them being too close together they form one giant unpleasant smell. Some of them did seem a little too pushy/eager compared to others though. The closing down sale at the store was also pretty good as it seemed they wanted to get rid of everything even down to the chairs they previously used for makeup/beauty treatment to other customers, they seemed to want to get rid of everything instead of taking it to other stores which is pretty good from a customer point of view, as it made this one of the cheapest Debenhams stores in the UK at one point. I do feel the store guide could have been clearer though, but this still remained a decent store and I'm sad to see it closed, although it was probably average and dwarfed compared to Debenhams stores in larger cities, it still was a nice brand to have in Altrincham.

Argos' Altrincham store is one of the many stores they have relocated to inside a Sainsbury's,…read morewhich obviously does make sense with Sainsbury's now owning Argos. It is tucked away in the far left corner near the checkouts, it could have been signposted better around Sainsbury's in my opinion as I did have to ask a staff member where it was. The store is pretty small but they do seem to have a good selection of items, I managed to pick up a game here which wasn't available at many other nearby Argos stores, probably due to demand with it being a Black Friday offer. Surprisingly, larger stores wouldn't have had the item in while this one did (the other stores could order it in but that would be AFTER Black Friday meaning I'd have paid more). It is laid out with the new Argos layout, so it is pretty much the average location inside a Sainsbury's although it is a pretty small area to the point I'd struggle to class it as a full Argos store. The staff seemed friendly enough too - I do still feel that being located on Altrincham's main shopping street would still have been more convenient rather than this location which is around a 5-10 minute walk away. 2* - It is obviously a small store and while it does have a decent selection it in most cases doesn't compare to the larger locations, due to the very small size at peak times it can become rather uncomfortable and I do feel the location within the Sainsbury's store lets the store down a little bit considering Sainsbury's do sell similar items as well, and being closer to the main shopping area of the town would be easier for the customers, even if it wasn't easier for the parent organisation.

Quaint little place with concessions like the trader's outlet. Lots of jewellery and sparkles...I…read morewas drawn in like a magpie. Lovely little tea room at the back too, they do GF afternoon tea, I'll be trying it at some point. Worth a look for something a bit different and if you're bored of chains

Not a lot to say about this Aldi which is different to any other really but if you love Aldi then…read morethen there is definitely no reason not to stop off at this one for your random gadgets for the home whilst doing your weekly shop.