ICONIC department store Harvey Nichols has confirmed it will open in Liverpool One.

Last month the ECHO exclusively revealed the upmarket chain was on the verge on signing a lease for the former Habitat store.

Yesterday the Knightsbridge-based retail empire announced it will open a new concept, small-format store in the autumn.

It will reveal the full detail of the new store in the spring, but it is expected to essentially be a store offering fewer ranges than its bigger shops.

Joseph Wan, chief executive at Harvey Nichols, added: “Liverpool One is the number one shopping destination at the heart of this great city.

“It serves a large catchment area with a loyal and discerning customer and there is no better place from which to launch this exciting new concept.”

The announcement followed the successful operation of the Harvey Nichols pop-up shop in Liverpool One, selling high-quality food and drink.

Miles Dunnett, head of asset management at Liverpool One owner Grosvenor, said: “There is no better testament to the success of Liverpool One – and indeed Liverpool – than Harvey Nichols’ decision to choose it for this new-format store.

“This is the crowning glory of a very successful year for Liverpool One.

“Footfall for 2011 was up by more than 5% compared with 2010 and sales have increased by over 10% for the year.

“According to a report by independent research firm Javelin, more people than ever before from across the North West are visiting Liverpool One as their first-choice shopping destination, increasing the total catchment by 27% on the previous year.”

The world-famous Harvey Nichols traces its roots to 1813, when Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop in a terraced house on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street, in London.

It was not until 1996 that Harvey Nichols opened its second UK store in Leeds’s Victoria Quarter.

In 2003 the company opened in Manchester and five years later in Bristol

From Liverpool Echo 10th January 2012