Former Aklu Plaza in Market Place, Romford replaced with Home Store

Home Store opened in the huge ground floor commercial unit in Market Place  on June 19.

The shop sells a wide variety of items, including bedding, clothes, kitchenware, furniture and rugs. 

Our reporter went down to the new store on Friday (June 21) to take a look around.

One of the shop's managers told the Recorder: "We opened two days ago. It's busy here (in Romford) but it's been quiet.

"We've just opened and we need business. (We sell) household things, clothing, furniture."

The site used to be home to Debenhams (Image: Olivia Carter)

The managers say they are looking forward to "good things" to come for the future of Home Store. 

They told this paper they had secured a one year lease for the space and have no connection with the previous leaseholders. 

The unit's history dates back to the 1860s, when Stone's opened a shop in Market Place.

Department chain Debenhams made the space at 56-72 Market Place its home in 1973 and went on to trade for almost 50 years, before closing down in 2021. 

The lease for the shop was then taken over by Aklu Miah, who opened the Aklu Plaza shopping mall in 2022.

The store sells a range of goods from clothing and beds to suitcases (Image: Olivia Carter)

The ground floor housed the flagship Home Superstore, while there were also plans to convert the top floor into a banqueting suite.

But Home Superstore closed in 2023 and the banqueting hall proposal never became reality.

The store's managers (Image: Olivia Carter) READ MORE: KFC in Romford town centre set to undergo changes

Aklu Plaza Ltd, of which Mr Miah was the director, was dissolved last October and he revealed to the Recorder that he was ending the lease for the site in December.

The store opened two days ago (Image: Olivia Carter)

This week's opening of Home Store caught the eyes of social media users in the area, with one writing on Facebook: "Debenhams reopening this week? Looks a lot better in there."