H. Binns, Son & Co. was a chain of department stores based in Sunderland, later purchased and absorbed by House of Fraser.
H. Binns, Son & Co. was a chain of department stores based in Sunderland, later purchased and absorbed by House of Fraser.
George Binns moved to Sunderland from Yorkshire in 1804, establishing a small drapery business in 1807 before taking over a larger wool and linen drapery store owned by Thomas Ellerby. [1] Binns was assisted by his son Henry in the store at 176 High Street, Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland. In 1836 Henry inherited the store on the death of his father and began trading under the name Henry Binns. [2] He was a member of the anti-slavery movement and sold only cotton grown by free labour. By 1844 the shop had moved from 176 to 173 High Street. [3]
In 1865 Henry retired and his son Joseph John Binns took control of the business changing its name to H. Binns, Son & Co. [4] By 1884 the business had moved again, renting two houses at 38-39 Fawcett Street where the house frontages were replaced with a new shop front and the interior remodelled. [1]
During 1897 the business was incorporated as H. Binns, Son & Co. Ltd. and the buildings at 38-39 Fawcett Street were purchased shortly afterwards. The company was chaired by Joseph Binns and employed thirty staff. [5]
The business grew quickly and within seventeen years became Sunderland's biggest department store. It had acquired or leased 32 to 37, 40 and 42 Fawcett Street and was trading on both sides of the street. [5] The capital of the business at the start of the First World War stood at £65,000 (approx. £20 million 2013). [1]
In 1922, the company expanded with the purchase of Arthur Sanders Ltd., a drapery business based in High Row, Darlington. It was renamed Binns and developed to become a department store. [6] This was followed in 1923 by the purchase of Thomas Jones of Middlesbrough, which was again remodelled and renamed Binns. By 1924 every tram in Sunderland had the advertisement Shop at Binns on its front. [1] In 1925 the Darlington store was destroyed by fire but was swiftly rebuilt and re-opened the following year. [5]
The company continued to expand by acquisition of stores in other towns:
The stores were all remodelled and renamed Binns. In addition to purchasing companies, further property was purchased from W. J. Reed in Fawcett Street, Sunderland and new premises were built on Borough Road. [5] [6] In 1934 the company changed its name to simply Binns Ltd., and in 1935 reported capital of over £1 million and a staff of 5,000. [1]
World War II proved difficult for Binns as a number of stores were damaged in air raids: Dumfries in March 1941, most of the Fawcett Street store a few weeks later, plus a disastrous fire at the Middlesbrough store occurred in March 1942. [5] Construction of a replacement store in Sunderland began in November 1949 but it took until 1953 for the store to be re-opened. [5]
In early 1953, House of Fraser made an approach to purchase Binns Ltd., which initially met with opposition from the board of directors. After a bitter takeover process, however, Hugh Fraser was appointed Chairman of the company in April 1953. [6]
After the takeover, Binns continued to operate as a separate business within the House of Fraser empire.
The Middlesbrough store was reopened in 1957 and rebuilding at Sunderland culminated in the opening of an additional new building in 1962.
Expansion of the Binns group was resumed in 1969 with the purchase of Guy & Smith, the leading department store in Grimsby. [5] The store was refurbished and renamed Binns. Further acquisitions into the 1970s strengthened the group's presence in the east of England. These included the old-established and well-regarded department store of Hammonds of Hull in 1972. A new Binns store opened at Scunthorpe in 1974.
During the 1970s, House of Fraser re-organised its department stores into a number of regional trading divisions of which Binns became one, with management remaining at Sunderland. An enlarged Binns group had emerged by the end of the decade with the addition of a number of stores in the north of England which had been taken over by House of Fraser through various acquisitions since the Second World War. Edward J Clarke in Harrogate (House of Fraser's first store in England), Alexanders in Southport and R. H. O. Hills in Blackpool joined Binns from this reorganisation. In 1975 William Henderson & Sons of Liverpool was transferred from the Harrods division to Binns. [8] Further stores were added in Doncaster (formerly an Owen Owen store) and Lincoln (formerly Mawer & Collingham).
The decline of heavy industry and subsequent challenges in the economy of the north-east of England during the 1980s were reflected in the fortunes of parts of the Binns business.
The large Sunderland store, straddling both sides of Fawcett Street, was contracted to a single building and many departments were closed.
Branches further south, however, continued to trade relatively strongly. The stores in Hull, Darlington and Grimsby were refurbished between 1984 and 1986. [5]
The 1990s heralded a period of review and rationalisation across the House of Fraser business. Binns saw many of its branches close during the decade. The Sunderland store closed entirely in 1993.
House of Fraser was acquired by Highland Group Holdings, a consortium of investors, in 2006. After the takeover all of the remaining Binns stores, save for the Darlington branch, were renamed House of Fraser.
Arnotts is the oldest and largest department store in Ireland. It is located on Henry Street, on the north side of central Dublin. Together with the Brown Thomas chain of department stores, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
House of Fraser and Frasers are a British department store chain with 29 locations across the United Kingdom, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, and after the Second World War a large number of acquisitions transformed the company into a national chain.
Cavendish House is Cheltenham's oldest department store, located on The Promenade. Its establishment was of great significance for Cheltenham's future reputation as a leading shopping centre. Known as 'Cavendish House' from its early days, its name was officially adopted with the registration of a limited liability company in 1883. The store became part of the House of Fraser group in 1970.
Arnotts was a department store in Glasgow, Scotland. It became part of the House of Fraser and one of their group brands, with the Arnotts brand then also being used by the company for department stores elsewhere in Scotland.
Army & Navy Stores was a department store group in the United Kingdom, which originated as a co-operative society for military officers and their families during the nineteenth century. The society became a limited liability company in the 1930s and purchased multiple independent department stores during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, the Army and Navy Stores group was acquired by House of Fraser. In 2005, the remaining Army & Navy stores were refurbished and re-branded under the House of Fraser nameplate. House of Fraser itself was acquired by Icelandic investment company, Baugur Group, in late 2006, and then by Sports Direct on the 10 August 2018.
Rackhams was a British department store that opened in Birmingham, England in 1881. The business became part of the Harrods group in 1955, before Harrods was purchased by House of Fraser in 1959. As part of the Harrods grouping in House of Fraser, during the 1970s the Rackhams name was selected to be used as the Midlands and parts of the North of England brand name and several stores were added to its portfolio. In 2000 the Rackhams name was retired and replaced by House of Fraser except for the Skipton and Altrincham stores.
United Drapery Stores, or UDS, was a British retail group that dominated the British high street from the 1950s to the early 1980s.
Barkers of Kensington was a department store in Kensington High Street, Kensington, London. It began as a small drapery business, John Barker & Company, founded by John Barker and James Whitehead in 1870. Barkers grew rapidly to become one of London's largest and most well-known department stores.
Chiesmans was a department store group based in Lewisham, London. The business was established in 1884 as a general draper, expanding to become the largest department store in south-east London and operator of a network of branches stretching from Essex to the Isle of Wight. The group was acquired by House of Fraser in 1976. The former Lewisham flagship store closed in 1997.
E Dingle & Co was a department store chain with its flagship store in Plymouth, England. It is now part of House of Fraser group.
Jolly & Son was a small department store chain based in Kent and the West Country. Jolly's historic flagship store in Bath has been part of the House of Fraser group since 1971.
Brown Muff & Co, was a small chain of department stores based in Yorkshire, England, with its flagship store located in Bradford. It was purchased by House of Fraser in 1977.
Scottish Drapery Corporation was a holding company for a group of Scottish department stores and drapers.
Matthias Robinson was a small chain of department stores in the north of England which were purchased by Debenhams.
J F Rockhey was a department store located in Torquay, Devon with a further smaller branch in Newton Abbot.
Dalys was one of the 11 department stores of Glasgow, located on what was the grand Sauchiehall Street.
Guy & Smith was a department store located in Grimsby and is now part of House of Fraser.
Hammonds of Hull was a department store with the original business located in Hull before opening a further branch in Bridlington. The business was later bought by House of Fraser. As of September 2021, the building in Ferensway is being renovated to re-open to the public as an artisan food hall at ground level including space for independent non-food retailers, and with rentable office space above.
Mawer & Collingham was a department store located in Lincoln, England until being purchased by House of Fraser in 1980.