Merry Hill Shopping Centre store by well over a decade, only closing when the retailer went into liquidation over the 2008/09 winter. The completion of Merry Hill resulted in the loss of many big name retailers from nearby town centres, with Dudley arguably being the hardest hit, suffering a 70% decline in retailing market share following Merry Hill's opening. However, some retailers kept their stores in nearby towns open, despite opening new stores at Merry Hill. WH Smith, who have been at Merry Hill since 1989, still have a store in Halesowen, and even opened a new store in Stourbridge during the 1990s. The
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