One of the flagship anchor stores of Churchill Square, Debenhams in Brighton is a pretty decent…read moresized store, although pretty much average for the chain it is located in. It is located fairly close to Apple, up to a steep gradient in the mall floor. The store isn't as modern as one would expect from an anchor store of a mall, but still pretty much does the job when it is open with a satisfactory selection. The store like most branches of Debenhams is pricier than the overall feel of the store implies on the first impression. Average, generic Debenhams store with poor opening times (unstructured, closing early on most days but this is the same as the entire mall) - A useful brand for the city but not really a great store within that brand. 2*

Debenhams is like a time capsule…read more Every time I offer to take my mum shopping and we've done every other store in the city from M&S to Wallis, she swears she just wants to 'Pop in Debenhams for 5 minutes.' And of course, we always emerge weighed down by bags one or two hours later. This particular branch is tiny compared to the Manchester and London stores but they still manage to squeeze a lot of stock in. The ground floor is mainly occupied by accessories, shoes, perfume and make-up counters from Clarins to Benefit whilst the first floor has a strong selection of bed, bath, kitchen and dining room goodies. There's also a small childrens-wear department. The reason my mum loves this store however, is for the womens wear in the basement. There's air conditioning, three changing room areas and small subsidiaries of Wallis, Red Herring, Jane Norman, Warehouse, Top Shop, Oasis, Coast and Red Herring amongst others. Right now, there's also a Blue Cross sale on - which means 70% off for card-holders. Hang on, I think my mobile's ringing...

Churchill Square Shopping Centre is the main shopping centre serving Brighton, UK, albeit there are…read moreshopping areas elsewhere such as on Western and North Roads, and within a few minutes walk of the Railway Station. It is a pretty small centre, most of the stores are also small and brands such as Three, EE and Superdrug do have other branches around the city. Many other stores also seem to be smaller by usual standards from the brand, including one of the older-fashioned, uninspiring and smallest Apple Stores I've seen across Europe. There were multiple cold-call style sellers conducting University research and a Sky desk, the latter was worse as it was located so close to certain stores such as Game, they were basically pulling customers a way to try and make them sign up for their services. I can't help but feel this only works in larger and more spacious malls so you can hide from them if you will, rather than being so close, making it seem even more awkward and frustrating. There are multiple brands here including JD Sports, Three, EE. WHSmith also has one of the larger stores I've seen in the brand, which includes a Post Office. If you prefer to use Collect+, the information desk does do Collect+ and there are Amazon Lockers within the centre. There is a small food court on the top floor, which also struggles to compete with the dining scene in the rest of the city, and mainly consists of a few fast food chains including Mcdonald's. Even most coffee shops including Starbucks and Costa, prefer to be outside of the mall and across the way! The construction across the mall is a little strange, it is over three floors, which are pretty small, there is a steep slope leading up to the Apple Store / Debenhams area of the mall, making it really similar in a sense to intu Potteries located in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent. It has some good brands but doesn't do it particularly well. The Westside, on Western Road with large stores such as Topman, WHSmith and JD Sports, makes it appear modern and cool, but it just doesn't live up to that. 2* - More of a place to shop under shelter with some okay brands (some which can't be found elsewhere), avoidable on a nice day because Brighton is a nice place to spend time outside in the sun, along the seafront or shopping areas where the larger shops seem to be located, with the exception being the anchor stores here such as Debenhams. Lack of places to sit down and grab a drink or food such as major restaurants or coffee-shops also lets Churchill Square down, as it seems they focus on a few fast food outlets.

I have a kind of Love/Hate relationship with Churchill Square. It's reasonably convenient, what…read morewith everything being under one roof, but the parking is a pain (expensive, long queues, and difficult to access as they have shut a number of the roads around it at the moment). It's handy if you know what you need and where you need to get it from, and it contains most of the common high street shops that you would expect to find in a shopping centre of this size. However, it's also usually packed (with teenagers and prams) and can be a bit stressful. I've found myself here quite often recently for numerous Mothercare visits, and at least you aren't walking too many miles (useful at eight and a half months pregnant!) That said, Brighton has so many amazing alternatives for shopping if you want something a little less run of the mill. The Laines has some fantastic independent shops which offer a much better shopping experience in my opinion, and I usually prefer to shop here if I have the time and the energy.

The stuff in Factory Outlet is so cheap, I felt a lot of pressure to buy things I don't need (and…read morehave no room for) just because they were SO CHEAP. Do I really need a full length mirror? No, but it's only £8! What about a cool black and white print of John Lennon? No, but it's only £8! Not everything was £8, but it was all cheap. Incense - 99p per pack. Cushions (nice ones!) £3 - £7, depending on size. Furniture included kitchen table and chair sets, night stands, foot stools, comfy chairs and couches, and I don't think anything was over 500. Near the back were tonnes of rugs in various sizes and for various rooms. Smaller items like dishware (a full set for £8! ... Maybe they did a study and 8 is the price that sounds like a really good deal to most people), jewellery boxes and clocks were also cheap. The key is that nothing really looks like it's from a bargain bin - or, won't once you take it out of the shop. I say, check it out.

Zara was relatively late in arriving in Brighton, but took over a large shop in the western corner…read moreof the Churchill Square Shopping Centre. It deceptively large, as it's on two floors: menswear is upstairs, womenswear downstairs. The menswear section is large enough to have a decent selection of the regularly updated fashion basics that it's well known for, and this season seems to focus strongly on dark colours (lots of black). The fit of many of their clothes can be on the small side, so you may need to go up a size, especially now that the skinny look is 'in' for men. They're good for accessories, though: belts, hats, ties and scarves are certainly worth a look for something up to date but wearable. Prices aren't quite as competitive as they used to be - doubtless a facet of the falling pound - but they're still not bad, and they have some good sales from time to time. Service here is, as with other branches, pretty good, although some of the stock displays were looking a little messy on my last visit. Like the rest of the Churchill centre, it can get packed at weekends, so avoid the Saturday crush if you can.

I enjoy shopping here for clothes as the styles are aimed more towards mature dressers. the mens…read moredepartment (basement) is also large enough to accommodate the large range of garments. there is also a women's department (located on the ground floor) and a childrens department next to the mens. the interior is bright and clean, with modern display units. it can get very busy during the sales period because they reductions are quite high.

I agree with those who find T K Maxx a strange experience: a sort of cross between retailing and a…read morejumble sale, and the Brighton store in particular veers towards the latter. I am always amazed at some of the terrible 'fashion-victim' clothes on offer, reduced from something ridiculous to something that still strikes me as daylight robbery; I cannot understand why anyone would buy the stuff at all, unless they have more money than taste, or perhaps simply no idea? Only go if you have something very specific in mind, unless rummaging through lots of entirely unsuitable items turns you on. I've found some excellent silk ties here in the past, from brands like Aquascutum and Jaeger. Inevitably, they were alongside ties which were so loud, you would only buy them for your worst enemy. Now there's a thought...

Anyone who still thinks good things can be found in TK Maxx is highly disillusioned…read more 'oh yeah, you just have to wait for them to get a new batch in' Or 'you just have to rummage around, there's some well good stuff in there' Wrong! Theres nothing in there, there never was...idiots.

This is a bit of an oddity this shop. It's called a drug store so you may expect drugs and nothing…read moreelse, well there are drugs, but blow me down you have about a million other things here too. The shop offers: Key Cutting, nuts, bolts, screws etc...bumper seized flapjacks, economy kitchen items; knives, blenders etc...toiletries and so much more. Everything here is definitely in the bargain/economy kind of range, and if your looking for quality electrical goods, I wouldn't come here necessarily. But if your on a budget and you want to do some blitz shopping, you can find a whole lot in here.

A fantastic little store with thousands of handy goods for your Home and Garden. My family have…read morebeen using this shop for over 20 years, nothing is too much trouble for the lovely staff. How many times have i asked for something, and they have gone all out to get it from one of their wholesalers. A great local shop, a real asset to the area, if this shop went now woolworths has gone the square would be dead. Keep up the good work x

One of those imaginatively named discount stores which sells end of line catalogue/warehouse stock…read moreat cut prices. A relatively new addition to Brighton's bustling North Street, they were just opening over Christmas. Some of the stuff's pretty tacky, framed Spiderman posters and holographic Twilight images being the prime suspects, but the furniture is good value and all very chic, from glass coffee tables and computer desks to leather sofas. At the back of the shop there are discounted rugs, brightly coloured fluffy ones, all very modern and half the original price, and if you ever need a suitcase or luggage holdall, this is the place to come. The shop does look a bit bare, and they do tend to stock multitudes of the tat but only small selections of the good stuff, making it look like they forgot to fill it up. Worth a look if you're looking for something listed above.