Hub Retail

I was really quite impressed with the homeware section of this place. I’d just come from the kitchenware section of TK Maxx: a bit of a car crash, but still a lot of high quality goods in there at prices which are hard to beat, if you don’t mind digging through the piles of merchandise.
Hub Retail gives TK Maxx a run for it’s money on homewares price-​wise, and Hub also has a proper retail display and nice wide aisles. The window display featured a boxed set of matching Chinese serving dishes and individual bowls — basically, order up your usual takeaway and serve it with a touch of class, as it said on the side of the box! Lots of big brand names — Viners cutlery sets, Russell Hobbs and Breville kettles and toasters, Heathcote and Gino-​somebody cookware, Sabatier cook’s knives (3 knife starter pack for £26 or something), lots of really good silicone bakeware and so on. I somehow felt an assured touch to the purchasing all over — well-​made cast iron griddles for £7, and a full range of nice Le Creuset enamelled cast iron copies with the largest casserole priced at £55, whereas the real thing is likely to set you back over £100 — nice! Basically, all this stuff is about as cheap as it gets whilst still being elegant and durable.
For me, I decided to go out on a high note straight from the elegant homewares section to the cash register, but the wide-​ranging enthusiasm of Anyonita and Emma-​Louise in their reviews makes me feel I need to check out the rest of Hub’s offerings.
In conclusion, especially if you are starting from scratch with kitchen and tableware (and home décor), I would suggest getting the notepad out and doing some comparison shopping:
vs. TK Maxx vs. Hub to find the best buys. And then top it off with any specialist equipment you need from The Cook Shop in the Arndale Market.

I came in here looking for a kettle. I didn’t get my kettle. I got far too distracted.
This… place… has… EVERYTHING. You think it’s a homeware store, but then there’s a wall of pick n’ mix and sweet gifts. So you think it’s a homeware and sweet store, then you stumble across shower gel and moisturiser. So then you think you know what’s going on, you turn a corner, and there’s a load of bleach and kitchen cleaner. And just when you thought it couldn’t possibly stock it all, there’s a whole aisle dedicated to storage organiser type things. This includes SHOE organises. Clear boxes you can pop your shoes in for in your wardrobe. And label.
This is my kinda place. (Yep, my friends are coughing and muttering ‘Monica’ again.)
Hub offers the whole lot, from crockery and cutlery to furnishings and garden bits and bobs. It’s all tasteful and brightly coloured (well, I love a few primary colours in my kitchen), and the best part? Cheap! As chips! I’ve got my eye on the multi-​tiered cake stand and the cookbook holder. Don’t you dare go snatching them from under my nose before you get back, y’hear.