By Pam McClounie City centre reporter

Last updated at 11:39, Thursday, 18 October 2012

A shop in Carlisle that closed earlier this year is to re-open.

Hawkins Bazaar closed its Carlisle store in January

Hawkins Bazaar – which sold toys and quirky novelties – closed in January after it went into administration.

Not all of its UK stores closed but the Carlisle shop in The Lanes Shopping Centre did shut.

But now it is coming back – in time for Christmas.

David Jackson, commercial director of The Lanes, said: “They are taking on a 12-month lease and will be in the unit that they used to occupy. It’s great to have them back.”

The T Mobile shop on Scotch Street will be closing shortly for a re-branding process with mobile operator Orange.

T Mobile and Orange will become Everything Everywhere and will be based in the larger Orange shop on Scotch Street. The T Mobile unit will then be empty.

Mr Jackson said The Lanes is having a successful year as many businesses have refurbished and are investing in their stores.

He said: “Debenhams had the largest investment and their new look store is great. There are a lot of new brands in there.

“Refurbishments have also taken place at Blue Inc, Greggs, Holland and Barrett, Superdrug and Monsoon.

“There is a lot of confidence in Carlisle. The footfall this year is about three per cent down on last year but this is in line with the national figure.

“There has been a slight decline in terms of the numbers of visitors but not in terms of spend. We are seeing a change in shopping habits and the rise in the cost of petrol maybe has something to do with it as well.

“People who maybe used to visit The Lanes two or three times a week are maybe dropping one of those visits but they are not spending less.

“Retailers are still enquiring about The Lanes and that’s a good thing.”

A recent night for students in The Lanes attracted a lot of people.

The lock-in event was held so students could get discounts.

Mr Jackson said: “The feedback we had from this event was that it was a great success and it was so busy it was like a late night shopping evening in late December.”

First published at 11:30, Thursday, 18 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk