92-520: Levy's , also known as Levy Brothers , was a department store based in Tucson, Arizona , United States . It was founded in 1950 by brothers Jacob and Ben Levy, who acquired the former Myers & Bloom department store in downtown Tucson. The Levy brothers started department stores in Southern Arizona mining towns such as Douglas, Clifton and later Tucson. They were the main goods stores in
184-476: A drapers ' store. In 1813, William Debenham became a partner and the corporate name changed to Clark & Debenham . The shop was later renamed Cavendish House and sold drapery, silks, haberdashery, millinery, hosiery, lace, and family mourning goods. As the trade grew, the partners determined to expand the business by opening branches in Cheltenham and Harrogate. By 1823, Clark & Debenham had opened
276-476: A leveraged buyout , for which the consortium only provided £600m of equity and added £1.2bn in debt. According to The Financial Times , the consortium "then extracted more than £1bn via property sale and leaseback agreements", before returning the business to a listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2006. On 8 August 2006, it was announced that Debenhams would buy the leaseholds of nine of
368-421: A First Aid Room, and a Silence Room, with soft lights, deep chairs, and double-glazing, all intended to keep customers in the store as long as possible. Staff members were taught to be on hand to assist customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell the merchandise. Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits; in 1909, Louis Blériot 's monoplane was exhibited at Selfridges (Blériot
460-548: A bi-annual basis. The store soon outgrew the Marble House and erected a cast-iron building on Broadway and Nineteenth Street in 1869; this "Palace of Trade" expanded over the years until it was necessary to move into a larger space in 1914. Financial problems led to bankruptcy in 1975. In New York City in 1846, Alexander Turney Stewart established the " Marble Palace " on Broadway , between Chambers and Reade streets. He offered European retail merchandise at fixed prices on
552-658: A debate in Westminster Hall that Bob Lambert , a then undercover police officer, planted the fire bomb that caused £340,000 worth of damage to the Harrow branch of Debenhams in 1987. It is unclear if anything has come of these allegations as of March 2014. In 1985 the company was acquired by the Burton Group . At the time of the takeover deal, Burtons claimed, We will end, however, Debenhams' hotch potch of shops-in-shops with conflicting marketing images and
644-572: A department store in 1910. In 1924, Matsuzakaya store in Ginza allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time. These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold, or instead displayed, luxurious products, which contributed to their sophisticated atmospheres. Another origin of the Japanese department store is from railway companies. There have been many private railway operators in
736-863: A dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys ), in Paris ( Le Bon Marché ) and in New York City ( Stewart's ). Today, departments often include the following: clothing, cosmetics, do it yourself , furniture , gardening, hardware, home appliances , houseware , paint, sporting goods, toiletries, and toys. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewellery, electronics, stationery , photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near
828-584: A notice of intent to appoint administrators. CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste said it was due to "unprecedented" circumstances caused by the COVID-19 lockdown and was to "protect [the] business, ... employees, and other important stakeholders". On 9 April 2020, the company went into administration. On 9 April 2020, Debenhams confirmed it planned to close 11 stores in the Republic of Ireland with immediate effect. In April 2020, Debenhams closed seven UK stores and
920-517: A number of brand names that it owned. In 2010, Debenhams announced the launch of four new designer names to its fashion range: Jonathan Saunders , Preen, Jonathan Kelsey, and Roksanda Ilincic. Stores also contained concessions whereby other retailers could trade. Brands in stores include Oasis , Coast, Phase Eight and Warehouse. In June 2014, the company announced a trial of Sports Direct concessions in its Harrow and Southsea stores, which if successful would be expanded to other stores. This followed
1012-607: A plan to discontinue its Betty Jackson Black ladies fashion brand, and significantly reduce its Jeff Banks menswear range in favour of expanding the Hammond & Co. brand. The company operated retail websites in the UK and Ireland, as well as a mobile-enabled website and mobile apps that allowed customers to shop the online range and scan product barcodes in store. Debenhams provided store card and credit card services, operated by NewDay . Insurance products were also provided under
SECTION 10
#17327754694741104-445: A shift to working from home, which stimulated e-commerce further and reduced demand for business apparel. Click-and-collect services at department stores had been increasing during the 2010s, with many creating larger, distinctly signed, designated areas. Some of the more elaborate ones included features such as reception and seating areas with coffee served, computers with large screens for online shopping, and dressing rooms. With
1196-503: A small drapery business at 3 Promenade Rooms, Cheltenham, selling a selection of silks, muslins , shawls, gloves, lace and fancy goods . In 1837, Clark retired from the business and Debenham took two of his most trusted staff, William Pooley and John Smith, as partners, trading in both London and Cheltenham as Debenham, Pooley & Smith. By 1840, the management of the Cheltenham branch appears to have been given to Clement Freebody, Debenham's brother-in-law. Around 1843, another branch shop
1288-675: A variety of dry goods, and advertised a policy of providing "free entrance" to all potential customers. Though it was clad in white marble to look like a Renaissance palazzo , the building's cast iron construction permitted large plate glass windows that permitted major seasonal displays, especially in the Christmas shopping season. In 1862, Stewart built a new store on a full city block uptown between 9th and 10th streets, with eight floors. His innovations included buying from manufacturers for cash and in large quantities, keeping his markup small and prices low, truthful presentation of merchandise,
1380-426: A £50m hotel. In the same month, Debenhams put itself up for sale to prevent it going into liquidation, hoping to find a buyer by September. In August 2020, the company announced it was cutting 2,500 job positions as a result of the economic effects of the pandemic. The job cuts affected store management positions; sales managers, visual merchandise managers, and selling support managers were set to be axed. According to
1472-486: Is leased out to other retailers, big-box category killer stores (e.g. Best Buy, Decathlon), hypermarkets, discount stores (e.g. Walmart, Carrefour), markets, or souqs. *store has no branches **opened at this location (may have expanded significantly in the years after initial opening) Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and
1564-971: Is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper". The Paris department stores have roots in the magasin de nouveautés , or novelty store ; the first, the Tapis Rouge, was created in 1784. They flourished in the early 19th century. Balzac described their functioning in his novel César Birotteau . In the 1840s, with the arrival of the railroads in Paris and the increased number of shoppers they brought, they grew in size, and began to have large plate glass display windows, fixed prices and price tags, and advertising in newspapers. A novelty shop called Au Bon Marché had been founded in Paris in 1838 to sell items like lace, ribbons, sheets, mattresses, buttons, and umbrellas. It grew from 300 m (3,200 sq ft) and 12 employees in 1838 to 50,000 m (540,000 sq ft) and 1,788 employees in 1879. Boucicaut
1656-530: The COVID-19 lockdown. They included the flagship Oxford Street store in London , plus those in Worcester , Weymouth , Staines , Harrogate and Portsmouth ; the move involved 320 job losses. On 25 January 2021, it was announced that Boohoo had bought the Debenhams brand and website for £55m, but did not retain any of the remaining 118 stores, meaning the loss of up to 12,000 jobs. Boohoo relaunched
1748-678: The Great Recession of 2008-9, shifts in spending to experiences rather than material goods, relaxed dress codes in workplaces, and the shift to e-commerce in which Amazon.com and Walmart dominated versus the online offerings of traditional retailers. COVID-19 increased the number of permanent store closings in two ways: first through mandatory temporary closing of stores, especially in March and April 2020, with customers largely staying away from stores for non-essential purchases for many more months after that; and secondly, by causing
1840-730: The Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin in 1996, and then established a second anchor store at Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork in 2005. Debenhams demerged from the Burton Group in January 1998 and was once again listed as a separate company on the London Stock Exchange. It expanded under the leadership of Belinda Earl who was appointed CEO in 2000. Debenhams opened its largest British store on 4 September 2003, at
1932-593: The San Fernando Valley at Laurel Plaza . Starting in 2010 many analysts referred to a retail apocalypse in the United States and some other markets, referring to the closing of brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains. In 2017, over 12,000 U.S. stores closed due to over-expansion of malls, rising rents, bankruptcies, leveraged buyouts , low quarterly profits other than during holiday peak periods , delayed effects of
SECTION 20
#17327754694742024-426: The 'Designers at Debenhams' brand, the creation of then CEO Belinda Earl , Ben de Lisi and Spencer Hawken . The idea introduced designer names and brands such as Jasper Conran , John Rocha , Butterfly by Matthew Williamson , H! by Henry Holland , Star by Julien Macdonald , Frost French, Janet Reger, Ted Baker , St George by Duffer, Jeff Banks , and Ben de Lisi. The company also started selling goods under
2116-605: The 11 Roches Stores department stores in Ireland for €29 million. Under the deal, the stores, including those in St. Patrick's Street in Cork and Henry Street in Dublin would be rebranded as Debenhams stores. The Roche family retained the ownership of the stores, and Debenhams became the new tenants. The company purchased the brand name and stock of Principles in March 2009 after
2208-520: The 115 Faith concessions trading within its stores, after Faith entered administration. In April 2012 the company announced it would be building 14 new stores, and was in negotiations over a further 25 sites in the UK. Debenhams agreed to become the anchor store at the Riverside shopping centre in Shrewsbury. By September 2012, the company announced that like-for-like sales had risen by 3.3% in
2300-542: The 21st century and entered administration twice, in April 2019 and April 2020. In November 2020, Debenhams' main concession operator Arcadia also entered administration, leading to the collapse of talks with JD Sports and Frasers Group over a potential rescue. As a result, Debenhams announced it would be liquidated . The Debenhams brand and website were purchased by the online retailer Boohoo for £55M in January 2021. However, Boohoo did not retain any stores, meaning
2392-650: The Debenhams brand by other financial companies. Debenhams also operated bureaux de change in selected stores. The company ran a loyalty card programme , branded the Debenhams Beauty Club, where customers could collect points with the purchase of health and beauty products. In 1956, Debenhams owned or controlled through its subsidiary, the Drapery Trust the following businesses, which it rated in different classes: High class stores Medium class stores Popular class stores In addition,
2484-450: The Drapery Trust, but by September 1929 he had confessed to his crimes. The connection of Clarence Hatry to Debenhams plunged the company into a crisis once his finances started to unravel, in addition to the Drapery Trust dividend collapsing and its export business diving due to the economy. Maurice Wright completed a rewriting of the capital in 1934, and merged the three operations, Debenhams, Debenhams Securities and Drapery Trust, slashing
2576-500: The Fashion Book, that was the basis of an extensive mail-order trade. In 1876 when Freebody retired, a new partnership, Debenham & Hewitt, was formed. George Hewitt appears to have worked at the Cheltenham store as a draper's assistant during the early 1860s but details of his subsequent career are not known. By 1883, George Hewitt was the sole owner of the Cheltenham business, Frank and William Debenham having withdrawn to manage
2668-547: The London store as a separate concern. The business was incorporated as Debenhams Limited in 1905. A new headquarters building, which was designed by William Wallace and James Glen Sivewright Gibson and built by Trollope & Colls , was completed in Wigmore Street in 1908. Debenhams at this time did not operate any other department stores, but did supply to others across the country via its wholesale business. It
2760-693: The Republic of Ireland, and is still operating as a franchise in seven Middle East countries. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish department store chain Magasin du Nord . In its final years, its headquarters were within the premises of its flagship store in Oxford Street, London . The range of goods sold included middle-to-high-end clothing, beauty, household items, and furniture. The company suffered financial difficulties in
2852-682: The active towns during the early part of the 20th century and carried a full line of clothing. The chain was similar to one in Northern Arizona founded by the Goldwaters. A second Levy's was later added at El Con Mall , Tucson's oldest shopping mall, in 1960. This store was followed by one in Foothills Mall in 1983. The store at El Con Mall relocated to a different building in the mall in 1969 (the old building becoming Steinfeld's ), which changed names several times. The store
Levy's (department store) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-625: The business entered administration. Principles operated concessions within 121 Debenhams stores, and was subsequently relaunched by Ben de Lisi as part of the Designers at Debenhams range. In November 2009, Debenhams acquired the Danish department store group Magasin Du Nord for £12.3 million. The company operates six stores in Denmark under the Magasin brand. In July 2010 Debenhams purchased
3036-540: The business ran several wholesale businesses including, amongst others Debenhams Wholesale, Chamberlins, DLMS and St Aldate Warehouse. As of December 2020, the company owned and operated 124 stores in the United Kingdom , and 7 under the Magasin du Nord brand in Denmark . Debenhams occupied the most sites of any of the traditional department store groups in the UK. The majority of the original trading names of
3128-550: The business, with Ernest Debenham as chair and being joined by Frederick Richmond and Maurice Wright. However, during the mid-1920s, several new investment groups were created and started buying up regional drapers and department stores. Clarence Hatry had created the Drapery Trust in 1925, while Charterhouse Bank 's company, Charterhouse Investments Trust (under Sir Arthur Wheeler, 1st Baronet ), had created United Drapery Stores in 1927, and Selfridge Provincial Stores
3220-425: The collapse of talks with Arcadia (which went into administration the previous day) and JD Sports over a potential rescue, Debenhams announced it was going into liquidation , putting 12,000 jobs in 124 UK stores at risk unless the administrators could find buyers for all or parts of the business. With the company in administration and on the verge of liquidation, on 6 December 2020, Mike Ashley 's Frasers Group
3312-522: The company announced that in addition to rent reductions on all except 39 stores, 22 stores would close after Christmas 2019. This included the recently opened Wolverhampton store plus Altrincham , Ashford, Birmingham Fort, Canterbury , Chatham, Eastbourne , Folkestone , Great Yarmouth, Guildford , Kirkcaldy , Orpington , Slough , Southport, Southsea, Staines, Stockton-on-Tees , Walton-on-Thames , Wandsworth , Welwyn Garden City , Wimbledon and Witney. On 6 April 2020, Debenhams confirmed it had filed
3404-517: The company of men. These, for the main part, were newly affluent middle-class women, their good fortune – and the department store itself – nurtured and shaped by the Industrial Revolution . This was transforming life in London and the length and breadth of Britain at a dizzying pace on the back of energetic free trade, fecund invention, steam and sail, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of expendable cheap labour. This pioneering shop
3496-455: The company's issued capital from £15,100,000 to £6,000,000. Wright would later be made Managing Director, before becoming Chairman in 1948. During the 1930s and 1940s the company continued to expand, becoming the biggest department store company in the country by 1948, with the stores retaining their original names until a reorganisation in the 1970s. In 1944 the company announced a post-tax profit of £249,605. An example of these acquisitions
3588-481: The company, "The trading environment is clearly a long way from returning to normal. Such difficult decisions are being taken by many retailers right now, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to give Debenhams every chance of a viable future." In September 2020, Debenhams put its seven store Danish chain, Magasin du Nord, up for sale. Magasin Du Nord was later sold to German department store Peek & Cloppenburg for £120 million. On 1 December 2020, after
3680-770: The confusing merchandising and floor layouts Following the closure of the store in Dudley in January 1981 and the Birmingham store in 1983, the company's only store in the West Midlands for the next six years was a town centre store in Walsall . On 4 November 1989, it opened a store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Brierley Hill . Debenhams entered Ireland as the anchor store at
3772-545: The deal, Ernest Debenham was forced out of the business, along with his son Peter. In a letter to The Times , Ernest wrote A month ago I had no intention of retiring from the management of Debenhams Securities. Indeed, I had every reason to hope that the connection of myself and my family with that business would be indefinitely prolonged. When the offer was made to purchase all or any of the ordinary shares in Debenhams Securities, circumstances of no interest to
Levy's (department store) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-455: The death of its chairman Leslie Cater. Using the new purchasing power Debenhams modernised its 40 food halls within its stores, branding them Cater's Food Halls, and opened two new Cater superstores. However the business declined in the intense marketplace and in 1979 the chain was sold to Allied Suppliers who converted the Cater stores into their Presto format. Debenham's other experiment into
3956-481: The diffusion of such ideas. A number of department stores teamed up together to create the International Association of Department Stores in Paris in 1928 to have a discussion space dedicated to this retail format. The U.S. Baby Boom led to the development of suburban neighborhoods and suburban commercial developments, including shopping malls. Department stores joined these ventures following
4048-539: The downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty, and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street. In 1877, John Wanamaker opened what some claim
4140-633: The establishment of a superiority over every other in Europe, and to render it perfectly unique in its kind. This venture is described as having all of the basic characteristics of the department store; it was a public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. Jonathan Glancey for the BBC writes: Harding, Howell & Co was focused on the needs and desires of fashionable women. Here, at last women were free to browse and shop, safely and decorously, away from home and from
4232-468: The first to be designed under the vision of CEO Sergio Bucher , with a new layout and format with the emphasis on encouraging people to stay longer. The second store to open during 2017 was the new 93,000 sq ft store at Wolverhampton 's Mander Centre . The store was opened on 12 October 2017 as part of the centre's £35 million refurbishments, it was also Debenhams' first store in Wolverhampton. It
4324-561: The following types of stores as department stores, even though they are not generally considered as such: One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby , first established as an ironmonger (hardware shop) in 1734. It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. However, the first reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co. , which opened in 1796 on Pall Mall , London. The oldest department store chain may be Debenhams , which
4416-488: The front of the store in discount department stores , while high-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain , while others are an independent retailer. Since the 1980s, they have come under heavy pressure from discounters, and have come under even heavier pressure from e-commerce sites since the 2000s. Department stores can be classified in several ways: Some sources may refer to
4508-570: The general investing public compelled me to accept the offer. The new enlarged company was offered to the public in February 1928, with the release of 2 million preference shares through merchant bank M. Samuel & Co, with the company being first listed on the London Stock Exchange later that year. In 1929, as part of his fraudulent plan to raise the cash for his deal to purchase United Steel, Hatry forged £478,100 of shares in
4600-462: The growing market of baby boomer spending. A handful of U.S. retailers had opened seasonal stores in resorts, as well as smaller branch stores in suburbs, in the 1920s and 1930s. Examples include, in suburban Los Angeles , The Broadway-Hollywood , Bullocks Wilshire , The May Company-Wilshire , Saks - Beverly Hills , as well as two Strawbridge and Clothier stores: Suburban Square (1930) and Jenkintown (1931) outside Philadelphia. Suburban Square
4692-403: The left, with all the different kinds of perfumery necessary for the toilette. The fourth is set apart for millinery and dresses; so that there is no article of female attire or decoration, but what may be here procured in the first style of elegance and fashion. This concern has been conducted for the last twelve years by the present proprietors who have spared neither trouble nor expense to ensure
SECTION 50
#17327754694744784-417: The level whereby it would be required to submit a formal takeover approach. After media speculation about Debenhams' survival, in 2018 the company announced the largest loss in its history, a pre-tax loss of £491 million, and the closure of up to 50 stores with the potential loss of 4,000 jobs. On 9 April 2019, the company announced that they had gone into pre-pack administration . On 26 April 2019,
4876-485: The loss of up to 12,000 jobs. Boohoo relaunched the website as Debenhams.com on 12 April 2021 under its own company, Debenhams.com Online Limited, when Debenhams' stores reopened to begin closing down sales following a relaxation of some COVID-19 restrictions. After 243 years in business, the remaining Debenhams department stores closed for the final time during May 2021. The business was formed in 1778 by William Clark, who began trading at 44 Wigmore Street in London as
4968-463: The nation and, from the 1920s, they started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' termini . Seibu and Hankyu are typical examples of this type. In the middle of the 1920s, American management theories such as the scientific management of F.W. Taylor started spreading in Europe. The International Management Institute (I.M.I.) was established in Geneva in 1927 to facilitate
5060-422: The national prestige brought by the great Parisian stores. The great writer Émile Zola (1840–1902) set his novel Au Bonheur des Dames (1882–83) in the typical department store, making it a symbol of the new technology that was both improving society and devouring it. Australia is notable for having the longest continuously operating department store, David Jones . The first David Jones department store
5152-525: The new Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham . The new store contained 19,230 sq m and opened 20 years after the company closed its Birmingham city centre store due to declining trade. A private consortium named Baroness Retail Limited, comprising CVC Capital Partners , Texas Pacific Group , Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and management, acquired the company in November 2003 in
5244-472: The one-price policy (so there was no haggling), simple merchandise returns and cash refund policy, selling for cash and not credit, buyers who searched worldwide for quality merchandise, departmentalization, vertical and horizontal integration, volume sales, and free services for customers such as waiting rooms and free delivery of purchases. In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy's as a dry goods store. Marshall Field & Company originated in 1852. It
5336-448: The onset of COVID-19 in 2020, most U.S. retailers offered a curbside pickup service as an option on their websites, and a dedicated area at one of the store entrances accessible by car. Along with discount stores, mainline department stores implemented more and more "stores-within-a-store". For luxury brands this was often in boutiques similar to the brands' own shops on streets and in malls; they hired their own employees who merchandised
5428-569: The purchase of a stake in Debenhams by Mike Ashley, the owner of Sports Direct, in January 2014. Later that year, Debenhams also launched trials of Costa Coffee and Mothercare concessions within stores. In October 2016, the company announced it would begin to focus less on clothing and more on food, beauty products and gifts. It also hired the former lighting buying team of collapsed rival BHS to begin introducing new lighting departments in stores. Debenhams followed this in December 2016 with
5520-460: The radical notion of shopping for pleasure rather than necessity and its techniques were adopted by modern department stores the world over. The store was extensively promoted through paid advertising. The shop floors were structured so that goods could be made more accessible to customers. There were elegant restaurants with modest prices, a library, reading and writing rooms, special reception rooms for French, German, American and "Colonial" customers,
5612-673: The selling space, and rang up the transactions at the brand's own cash registers. The main difference was that the boutique was physically inside the department store building, although in many cases there are walls or windows between the main store space and the boutique, with designated entrances. Incomplete list, notable stores of 50,000 m (538,196 sq ft) or more. Individual department store buildings or complexes of buildings. Does not include shopping centers (e.g. GUM in Moscow, Intime "Department Stores" in China) where most space
SECTION 60
#17327754694745704-517: The shares which gave him over 10% of voting rights in the company. During 2017 Debenhams opened two new stores, one in Stevenage and one in Wolverhampton . The 80,000 sq ft Stevenage store was opened on 24 August 2017 at Roaring Meg Retail and Leisure Park by Celebrity fashion designer Julien MacDonald and local hero Jean Robinson, who had won a competition for the privilege. The store was
5796-562: The six months up to that date. Debenhams moved to a new headquarters in 2013, in Brock Street, London built by British Land . The company leased 174,500 square feet (16,000 m ) of office space from British Land for 25 years. The company began a refurbishment of its flagship store in Oxford Street in 2013, which involved the installation of 180,000 aluminium tiles on the exterior of the building that appears to ripple with
5888-522: The store had buildings on both sides of Deansgate linked by a subterranean passage "Kendals Arcade" and an art nouveau tiled food hall. The store was especially known for its emphasis on quality and style over low prices giving it the nickname "the Harrods of the North", although this was due in part to Harrods acquiring the store in 1919. Harrods of London can be traced back to 1834, though the current store
5980-479: The superstore market, the two Scan Superstores were sold to Tesco in February 1978. Other diversifications included Greens Cameras & High-Fi and New Dimension, a home furniture and furnishing business. The company continued to open new stores, with Mansfield , Stirling and Eltham being opened in 1977. The company at times struggled in the 1970s, with a former chief executive stating it had too much selling space and too little talent to fill it Debenhams
6072-441: The superstore revolution by opening two Scan Superstores, which sold an assortment of Debenhams normal products in a supermarket like environment. In 1976 the company acquired Browns of Chester . It remained the only one of the company's UK stores to have retained an individual identity until all stores closed in 2021. The business diversified during the 1970s buying South East based supermarket group Cater Brothers in 1972, after
6164-439: The various branches of the extensive business, which is there carried on. Immediately at the entrance is the first department, which is exclusively appropriated to the sale of furs and fans. The second contains articles of haberdashery of every description, silks, muslins, lace, gloves, &etc. In the third shop, on the right, you meet with a rich assortment of jewelry, ornamental articles in ormolu, French clocks, &etc.; and on
6256-462: The website as Debenhams.com in April that year. On 5 May 2021, the liquidator announced that all remaining UK stores would close on 15 May 2021, marking the end of Debenhams as a department store retailer in the UK after 243 years. Despite the closure in the UK, Debenhams in Middle East countries remained unaffected and continues its operations as of June 2023. In 1993 the company introduced
6348-399: The wind. An existing floor was also converted to become a trading floor. The total cost of the refurbishment was in the region of £40 million, of which Debenhams contributed £25 million. The owner of the building, British Land, also contributed towards the cost. The refurbishment was due to be completed by February 2014. The company's trading statement for the 17 weeks up to 28 December 2013
6440-544: Was because of the debts owed to them through their wholesaling deals that they acquired control over Marshall & Snelgrove at Oxford Street and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge in 1919. The business at this time was run by Ernest Debenham and his close friend Frederick Oliver. In 1926, Oliver retired, and upon the advice of the Whitehall Trust, Debenhams Securities was formed to buy Oliver's share in
6532-564: Was built between 1894 and 1905. Opened in 1830, Austins in Derry remained in operation as the world's oldest independent department store until its closure in 2016. Lewis's of Liverpool operated from 1856 to 2010. The world's first Christmas grotto opened in Lewis's in 1879, entitled 'Christmas Fairyland'. Liberty & Co. in London's West End gained popularity in the 1870s for selling Oriental goods. In 1889, Oscar Wilde wrote "Liberty's
6624-689: Was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved. All the major High Streets in British cities had flourishing department stores by the mid-or late nineteenth century. Increasingly, women became the main customers. Kendals (formerly Kendal Milne & Faulkner) in Manchester lays claim to being one of the first department stores and is still known to many of its customers as Kendal's, despite its 2005 name change to House of Fraser . The Manchester institution dates back to 1836 but had been trading as Watts Bazaar since 1796. At its zenith
6716-424: Was closed in 1994 as Foley's, and is now divided between Ross Dress for Less , Nike Factory Store , and a vacant space last occupied by Linens 'N' Things . Department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made
6808-596: Was created by James White and Gordon Selfridge in 1926. These were seen to be a threat to Debenhams' wholesale business, as the company would lose sales to these new combined groups. Frederick Richmond and Maurice Wright thought it was too late to start creating a provincial group, so started negotiations with Clarence Hatry in 1927 to purchase the Drapery Trust. By November the deal was agreed for £2,350,000, mostly funded through Hatry's company Austin Friars Trust purchasing £1,600,000 of Debenhams shares. As part of
6900-499: Was established in 1778 and closed in 2021. It is the longest trading defunct British retailer. An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository , a British periodical on contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 1809 as follows: The house is one hundred and fifty feet in length from front to back, and of proportionate width. It is fitted up with great taste, and is divided by glazed partitions into four departments, for
6992-528: Was famous for his marketing innovations; a reading room for husbands while their wives shopped; extensive newspaper advertising; entertainment for children; and six million catalogs sent out to customers. By 1880 half the employees were women; unmarried women employees lived in dormitories on the upper floors. Au Bon Marché soon had half a dozen or more competitors including Printemps , founded in 1865; La Samaritaine (1869), Bazar de Hotel de Ville ( BHV ); and Galeries Lafayette (1895). The French gloried in
7084-526: Was founded in 1900. Arnold Constable was the first American department store. It was founded in 1825 as a small dry goods store on Pine Street in New York City. In 1857 the store moved into a five-story white marble dry goods palace known as the Marble House. During the Civil War, Arnold Constable was one of the first stores to issue charge bills of credit to its customers each month instead of on
7176-514: Was launched in Harrogate. Extended and refurbished premises opened in Cheltenham in October 1844. Pooley and Smith retired from the business in 1851 when Debenham took his son, William, and Clement Freebody into partnership, trading as Debenham, Son & Freebody. At this time all three shops in London, Cheltenham, and Harrogate were trading in similar goods and issued a joint catalogue, called
7268-467: Was made without the prior knowledge of the Debenhams board. Sports Direct stated at the time it intends to be a supportive share holder. The Debenhams board responded by stating they are open-minded with regard to exploring operational opportunities to improve its performance. Sports Direct sold its shares on 16 January 2014, although they took out an option to buy further shares up to a total of 6.6%. In August 2017, it emerged that Ashley had secured 21% of
7360-492: Was only the second to feature the new layout previously only seen in the Stevenage store, and only the second to feature the company's new deli-restaurant format Loaf & Bloom, only previously seen at Milton Keynes. In February 2018, the company announced a reduction of up to 320 store management roles across the business by the end of March. Sports Direct increased its holding in the company to 29.7% on 2 March, just below
7452-576: Was opened on 24 May 1838, by Welsh born immigrant David Jones in a "large and commodious premises" on the corner of George and Barrack Streets in Sydney , only 50 years after the foundation of the colony. Expanding to a number of stores in the various states of Australia, David Jones is the oldest continuously operating department franchise in the world. Other department stores in Australia include Grace Bros founded in 1885, now merged with Myer which
7544-472: Was owned by Federated Department Stores , which absorbed it into its other subsidiary ( Sanger-Harris ) in 1985; Sanger-Harris became Foley's in 1987 and was sold to May Company in 1988. Foley's became Robinsons-May February 2, 1997. It would hold this name until a 2006 conversion to Macy's . This location closed in 2008, and has been demolished for a Walmart Supercenter . The Foothills Mall store similarly became Sanger-Harris, and then Foley's; however, it
7636-421: Was released on 31 December 2013, and revealed a reduction in pre-tax profit from £115 million to £85 million. On 2 January 2014, the company's chief financial officer Simon Herrick resigned, following criticism of his financial decisions. On 13 January 2014 4.6% of Debenhams shares were bought by Sports Direct , the retailer run by Mike Ashley . The stock market purchase of 56.8 million shares (worth around £46m)
7728-460: Was reported to be in talks to acquire Debenhams, though it was later reported that Ashley was mainly interested in using empty Debenhams stores to expand his other chains, including House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Flannels; taking 'vacant possession' would avoid redundancy costs for existing staff. On 13 January 2021, Debenhams announced it would permanently shut six stores in England due to
7820-846: Was set to close five more when Coronavirus restrictions were lifted. This included the Croydon store that anchored the Centrale shopping mall (previously the Drummond Centre) that Debenhams had acquired when they took over the Kennards chain of stores, bringing to a close a trading period of more than 150 years from that site. In July 2020, Debenhams was set to abandon its property in Princes Street in Edinburgh, which it leased from Legal & General , in order to make room for
7912-643: Was targeted three times during the 1980s by the Animal Liberation Front in protest at the sale of animal furs in stores. Stores in Romford , Luton , and Harrow were fire-bombed by members, the worst attack being on the Luton store. As a result, the company stopped selling clothes with animal furs. The company closed its ladies clothing chain Cresta in 1980. It was alleged by Caroline Lucas MP in
8004-591: Was the United States' first "modern" department store in Philadelphia : the first to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (1878), the telephone (1879), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880) to the department store business. Another store to revolutionize the concept of the department store was Selfridges in London, established in 1909 by American-born Harry Gordon Selfridge on Oxford Street . The company's innovative marketing promoted
8096-493: Was the first shopping center anchored by a department store. In the 1950s, suburban growth took off – for example, in 1952, May Company California opened a four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m ) store in Lakewood Center near Los Angeles, at the time, the largest suburban department store in the world. However, only three years later it would build an even bigger, 452,000-square-foot (42,000 m ) store in
8188-512: Was the first to fly over the English Channel ), and the first public demonstration of television by John Logie Baird took place in the department store in 1925. In Japan , the first "modern-style" department store was Mitsukoshi , founded in 1904, which has its root as a kimono store called Echigoya from 1673. When the roots are considered, however, Matsuzakaya has an even longer history, dated from 1611. The kimono store changed to
8280-600: Was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store, until the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first department store to use escalators . Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing". Moreover, every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of
8372-543: Was the premier department store on the busiest shopping street in the Midwest at the time, State Street in Chicago. Marshall Field's served as a model for other department stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Marshall Field's also had the firsts; among many innovations by Marshall Field's were the first European buying office, which was located in Manchester, England, and the first bridal registry. The company
8464-1038: Was the purchase of the Norwich stores of Buntings and Chamberlains in 1949, leading to them controlling four of the city's department stores. During 1957, the company purchased the ladies fashion store, Cresta, from W. Garfield Weston 's Howardsgate Holdings. In 1959 the business failed in a takeover of rival department store group Harrods , rivalling United Drapery Stores and eventual winner House of Fraser . The company closed several branches in 1970, with Birmingham (Marshall & Snelgrove, formerly Warwick House), Manchester (Marshall & Snelgrove in St Annes Place), Sheffield (Marshall & Snelgrove, Leopold Street) and Southsea (Plummers, Palmerston Road) properties being sold by auction. In 1972, United Drapery Stores made an offer to purchase Debenhams, along with interest from Sears plc and Tesco , but were fought off by chairman Sir Anthony Burney. The company entered
#473526