One of the most famous retail names on the Island is preparing to re-open its flagship store almost two years after the former outlet was demolished. With the loss of Trimingham's and Smiths there are few traditional big Bermudian stores left to welcome visitors and locals strolling along Front Street.

So when the rebuilt A.S. Cooper & Sons store re-opens on December 1 it will bring at least one famous Bermuda name back to prominence in the Island's highest profile shopping area.

However the new store will be less than half the size of its predecessor and will concentrate on selling products such as women's fashions, perfumes and cosmetics, china and other fine gifts.

The return of the famous Wedgwood blue-coloured shop front facade maintains a 109-year tradition for the Cooper family as Hamilton retailers.

And it is proof of managing director Peter Cooper's continuing confidence in the Island's retail sector.

The multi-storey building will feature retail on the first two floors, a Bank of Bermuda office on the third floor and other offices above that. It will have entrances from both Front Street and Reid Street.

The entire building will be cooled using sea water drawn from the harbour and chilled in the basement before being pumped to air-conditioning units.

When the former 40,000 sq ft A.S. Cooper department store closed in January 2005 its many retail sections were fragmented and relocated into smaller store premises around the city.

These satellite shops have proved successful enough in their own right to continue, at least for the foreseeable future, as individual shops.

The new flagship shop is to re-open in phases, starting out with a ground floor area dedicated to cosmetics and perfumes, and with an upstairs section with women's clothes, dresses, expanded evening gown section and accessories including handbags, scarves and belts. The women's specialities currently sold at A.S. Cooper's The Study shop will move to the new store, while The Study becomes an outlet for children's items.

Mr. Cooper said the new store will have a "soft opening" meaning it will be a partial opening of some retail areas with more added in the coming months, by February or March the store should be fully open, offering famous-name gifts such as Wedgwood china items, fine jewellery, cosmetics and perfumes including Bobbi Brown, the first time that particular brand has been made available in Bermuda.

A number of challenges encountered with the foundations of nearby buildings during the construction process upset the schedule for the completion of the building, although it was mostly back on track for a planned November opening until the passing of Hurricane Florence in September brought further delays.

Mr. Cooper is confident the store will be successful and popular with locals and particularly visitors. He points out: "All of our clothing is at US prices, not Bermudian mark-up prices. We are absorbing the customs and import costs. And there is still a great saving in buying cosmetics, perfume, and fine gifts in Bermuda as compared with the States."

The Cooper family first became involved in retailing in 1897 when Mr. Cooper's grandfather Alexander Samuel Cooper bough the Bermuda Furnishing and Supply Company, which gradually evolved into A.S. Cooper & Sons offering clothing, fine jewellery, and the first outlet in the Caribbean area to sell England's finest Wedgwood china.

The Wedgwood connection is the reason the new store front keeps the distinctive Wedgwood blue colour.