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
Meadowhall (shopping centre) 19th century Meadow Hall Iron Works, owned by John Crowley and Co., the shopping centre was built by Bovis on the site previously occupied by Hadfields' East Hecla steelworks. The centre was opened on 4 September 1990. With a floor area of , it is the eighth largest (second largest when first opened) shopping centre in the UK. It is similar in concept to the Merry Hill Shopping Centre at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, which was completed just before Meadowhall. With over 280 stores, Meadowhall has been widely blamed for the closure of shops in Sheffield City Centre