Merry Hill Shopping Centre had agreed to become tenants of a new department store in the final phase of the shopping complex. It opened on 23 October 1990, replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns West Bromwich and Dudley; the retailer had hoped that its Merry Hill store could co-exist with the West Bromwich and Dudley stores, but the onset of the recession and a general downturn in trade in these towns led to the closure of both stores on 25 August 1990. On 24 December 1990, the shopping centre was sold to Mountleigh. Development of the steelworks site did not commence until
Chadstone Shopping Centre to extend the carpark of the complex. Chadstone has claimed the title, "Southern hemisphere's largest shopping centre" since 2009, and also "Australia's largest shopping centre" since 2007, thanks to regular development, Westfield Knox having held the latter title from November 2002 until 2007 after the completion of their own expansion works. Chadstone's main local rivals are Westfield Doncaster to the north, Westfield Knox to the east and Westfield Southland to the south. Throughout the 1990s, Chadstone had undergone numerous developments. These include the development of multi-storey carparks due to the boundaries of the centre being built-up with no further room