Manchester Arndale’s Superdrug has just reopened after an extensive makeover, which has seen the popular high street health and beauty retailer double in size.
The huge new store is still in the same spot as before (opposite the former Topshop) but has now grown into a neighbouring unit and spans 6,300 sq ft.
Superdrug’s refurbishment has included adding in a brand new beauty studio, with services including a nail bar, brow bar and even piercing.
The business has also created an extra 12 jobs for the local economy.
Inside the modern new shop are brands including NYX, Maybelline and Rimmel, as well as cult favourites like Revolution, e.l.f. and Starface.
ADVERTISEMENT
Superdrug’s own lines of beauty, haircare and skincare are also on offer (many of which have gone viral for being affordable dupes of luxury items), like its Studio London by Superdrug range.
Haircare in Superdrug. Credit: The Manc GroupCult favourites like Starface pimple patches are on sale in the new-look Superdrug. Credit: The Manc GroupThe new Superdrug’s perfume counter. Credit: The Manc Group
The shelves are well-stocked with other best-selling ranges including B. Skin, Me+, Vitamin E, Optimum and Naturally Radiant.
ADVERTISEMENT
Manchester-based fashion giant Missguided also has its line of beauty products on sale.
For several months, Superdrug’s Arndale shop has been partly surrounded by hoardings while the refurbishment took place.
The boards have finally come down and the doors thrown open today, Friday 10 February.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nail treatments on offer at the beauty studio inside the new Superdrug. Credit: The Manc GroupThe beauty studio inside the new Superdrug. Credit: The Manc Group
A new fragrance counter has opened in time for Valentine’s Day, with premium brands like YSL, Viktor & Rolf, Giorgio Armani, Prada and Valentino sold with Superdrug promotions.
There are even better deals on offer for anyone who signs up to Superdrug’s Health & Beautycard, which unlocks member prices, birthday treats and a loyalty points scheme.
Nigel Duxbury, property director at Superdrug, said: “We are so pleased to be announcing the exciting re- opening of our Manchester Arndale store.
“With a wide range of popular health and beauty brands, a luxury fragrance counter, and a professional Beauty Studio, we’re confident that our customers will love this enhanced shopping experience.”
It’s good news for the Arndale too, on the same week that sadly saw beloved brand Homesense announced its departure from the shopping centre.
ADVERTISEMENT
New retailers have also been found for the former Topshop unit, with Clarks and Gilly Hicks set to move in.
Elsewhere, brands including Flying Tiger, Miniso and Sports Direct have all taken up new units too.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Shopping
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK
Danny Jones
Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.
So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’
Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.
Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) May 28, 2025
We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.
Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.
Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.
Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.
As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.
Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.
“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?
Daisy Jackson -
10th February 2023 
