Beales (department store)

Last updated

New Start 2020 Limited T/A Beales
Company type Limited company
Industry Retail
Genre Department store
Founded1881 (1881); 143 years ago in Bournemouth, Hampshire, UK
Founder John Elmes Beale
Headquarters Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Number of locations
2 (Poole and Southport)
Area served
UK
Key people
Andrew Perloff (Chairman)
Tony Brown [1]
Number of employees
1000 (2020)
Parent Panther Securities
Website www.beales.co.uk

Beales is an English department store chain, which currently operates 2 branches, in Poole and Southport. [2] The former flagship store, Beales in Bournemouth, was established as The Fancy Fair by John Elmes Beale in 1881 and was the biggest department store in Dorset. The chain expanded through acquiring other department stores and continued to run two stores branded as Palmers in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft until its closure.

Contents

The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until its private equity takeover. Beales entered administration on 20 January 2020 and finally closed their remaining stores on 18 March 2020. [3] It formerly operated 23 branches before entering administration. However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, reopened the Beales store in Poole in August 2020. [4]

History

Beales was established in 1881 by John Elmes Beale when he opened a store, initially known as a Fancy Fair and Oriental House, on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth, Dorset. [5] The company was run by the Beale family during the 20th century; Bennett Beale took over from his father, then by his John's grandson Frank. [5] Frank Beale trained at Macy's in New York City before returning to lead the company. [5] In the 1980s Nigel Beale, grandson of the company's founder, led the company. [5]

Beales claims to be the first department store in the world to feature a live Father Christmas character, dating back to 1885. [6] During the Second World War the company's Bournemouth store was bombed on 23 May 1943. [5]

The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. [7] Whitakers, the Bolton department store opened in 1829 was bought by Beales in 1996, with the name changed to Beales in 2011. [8]

Early 21st century expansion

The group acquired the Bentalls department stores in Ealing (closed October 2007), Tonbridge and Worthing from Fenwick in 2002 and closed its Walton-on-Thames store in January 2006.

A new Beales store opened in Horsham in September 2006 in premises formerly occupied by Allders. On 4 June 2010, Beales acquired the Robbs department store in Hexham from Vergo Retail which was in administration, for £250,000. [9] In August 2010, Beales expanded further by acquiring the Westgate Department Store in Rochdale from the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society. [10]

As of 5 April 2011, Beales acquired 19 additional Westgate stores, securing its long-term future. [11] In May 2012, Beales announced it would be opening an outlet store in the former T.J. Hughes store in The Mall Maidstone. This store closed in June 2013. [12] In addition a branch in Skipton closed in November 2012, a branch in Cinderford closed in July 2013. [13]

In summer 2014, the large Harrogate store closed for re-development of the land by the landlord. In June 2016, a planning application submitted by AEW UK for 76 flats in Bournemouth's Beales store was unanimously rejected [14] [15] after a campaign by locals and the owners of Beales backed by Conor Burns MP. [16] The 65 studio and 11 one bedroom flats with no parking which were described by AEW UK as "an environmentally sustainable approach" which "made the best use of the building" [17] were rejected by councillors as "shabby" and "appalling". [15]

On 28 November 2018, Beales bought Palmers. [18] Tony Brown took the company into private ownership in 2018. [7] Beales was a member of Associated Independent Stores (a buying group) which enables Beales to benefit from the cost savings of buying textiles and other non-food goods in bulk.

2020 closure and reopening

The Dolphin Shopping Centre, Poole. Beales only remaining store can be seen in the background. Poole - The Dolphin Shopping Centre (geograph 1899363).jpg
The Dolphin Shopping Centre, Poole. Beales only remaining store can be seen in the background.
Beales in Harrogate in 2013. This branch closed in 2014 and was demolished in 2015. Beales, Station Parade, Harrogate (25th February 2013).JPG
Beales in Harrogate in 2013. This branch closed in 2014 and was demolished in 2015.

On 12 January 2020, Beales warned that the company with 23 stores in the UK could collapse into administration, if a buyer for the business could not be found. [19]

On 20 January 2020, Beales formally entered administration, appointing KPMG as the administrators. [3] It was understood that there would be no immediate store closures and Beales stores would continue to trade as normal in the short term. [3] On the same date, the beales.co.uk customer-facing website also went offline. At the time of entering administration, Beales had 23 stores and employed in excess of 1,000 people whose jobs were at risk. [3]

On 7 February 2020, it was announced that Beales was closing 12 stores, due to failure to sell the chain as a whole. This included Beales’ flagship store and many other significant locations. [20] On 18 February it was announced that, although negotiations with a number of parties were continuing, the remaining 11 stores would close within the following 8 weeks selling their remaining stock. [21]

The COVID-19 pandemic hastened the closure of the remaining Beales stores, with the last stores closing on 18 March and the website going offline shortly afterwards. [22] Beales owed £12.6million, and during a month of closing down sales took £9.6 million in revenue. [23]

However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, owned by Panther Securities reopened a Beales store in Poole in August 2020. [4] Panther Securities' chairman Andrew Perloff owned Beales for three years previously. [4] The new company hired Beales' former CEO Tony Brown to run the Poole project. [4]

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust set up a new ‘health village’ on the second floor of the Beales department store in Poole, in 2022, using material and equipment from decommissioned Nightingale hospitals. This 20,000 sq ft clinic will cover ophthalmology, dermatology, breast screening, and musco-skeletal services. [24]

Locations

Current Locations

Former locations

See also

Related Research Articles

The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf of all its employees – known as partners – and a bonus, akin to a share of the profit, is paid to employees. John Lewis has around 80,800 partners/employees as of 2020. JLP Group was the third-largest UK non-traded company by sales in The Sunday Times Top Track 100 for 2016. The chain's image is upmarket, and its customers are likely to be more affluent consumers. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 2004 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Park</span> Leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, Poole, Dorset, England

Tower Park is a leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolworths (United Kingdom)</span> British retail company (1909–2009)

Woolworths was a British high-street retail chain. At its height, it operated as Woolworths Group PLC, which included other companies such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK, and book and resource distributor Bertram Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allders</span> British department store

Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom.

HHGL Limited, trading as Homebase, is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, until it was sold to the Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers in January 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Fraser</span> British department store group

Frasers is a British department store chain with 25 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, 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 in 1936 began a period of growth through acquisition which would continue for over forty years. House of Fraser Ltd was incorporated in 1941 and first listed on the London Stock Exchange six years later.

Arcadia Group Ltd was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BHS), Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and Warehouse. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK and concessions in UK department stores and several hundred franchises operated internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis's</span> Former British department store chain

Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became the flagship of the chain. Several stores in the chain were bought in 1991 by the company Owen Owen and continued to operate under the Lewis's brand name for several years, but after the closure of the Manchester store in 2001, only the original Liverpool store continued to trade under the Lewis's name. This store was sold in 2007 to Vergo Retail Ltd and closed in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentalls</span>

Bentalls was a British department store chain based in Kingston upon Thames. The well regarded department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867. The business expanded significantly throughout the 20th century and operated a group of department stores in southern England. The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, but in 2001 was purchased by the private Fenwick group. The Kingston upon Thames store remained as the only store to operate under the Bentalls name until 2023, when it was changed to Fenwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenwick (department store)</span> British department store chain

Fenwick is a British chain of department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1882 by John James Fenwick in Newcastle upon Tyne, and today consists of nine branches. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1988 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lewis & Partners</span> British department store chain owned by John Lewis Partnership

John Lewis & Partners, commonly known as John Lewis, is a British chain of high-end department stores operating across the United Kingdom, with concessions in Ireland. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest employee-owned business. The brand was established in 1929 by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilko</span> British retail chain

Wilko.com Limited is a retail chain owned by Norton Group Holdings since 2023, prior to which it was owned by Wilko Limited, founded in the United Kingdom in 1930.

Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia co-operative societies in 1987. The Society had over 80 stores, principally trading in East Anglia. Head office was located at Westgate House, Peterborough until 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmers Department Store</span>

Palmers Department Store was an independent and family-run department store located in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Latterly the company boasted that it was the 'longest established independent department store in the United Kingdom'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournemouth Water</span> British water supply company

Bournemouth Water provides drinking water to approximately 500,000 people from the port town of Poole to Beaulieu in the New Forest and from Bournemouth to Salisbury in Wiltshire, an area of over 1000 square kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphin Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Poole, England

The Dolphin Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Poole, Dorset, England, formerly known as the Arndale Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournemouth Town Centre</span>

Bournemouth Town Centre is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset. The town centre is the central business district and is located near the coast between West Cliff and East Cliff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Hill, Bournemouth</span>

Richmond Hill is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It is to the north of Bournemouth Town Centre, south of Richmond Park and west of Lansdowne. The area is located around the road of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournemouth Blitz</span> German bombing raids on Bournemouth, England during WWII

The Bournemouth Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bournemouth, Hampshire, England from 1940 to 1944, by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

References

  1. "'There'll be a difference between old Beales and new Beales': Plans laid for store's August opening". Bournemouth Echo. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. "Beales department store officially opens as hundreds queue to get in". The Guide, Liverpool. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Department store Beales falls into administration". BBC News. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Slade, Darren (22 July 2020). "Revealed: The brand names in the new Beales of Poole (along with bookshop and electricals)". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "About Us". Beales. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. "PICTURES: When the Beales Christmas parades brought Bournemouth to a standstill". Bournemouth Echo. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Beales Collapses Into Administration With 1,000 Jobs At Risk". www.lse.co.uk. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  8. Thompson, Stephen (8 March 2016). "Bolton Town Centre Department Store Beales in Deansgate could be forced to close because of High Rents". Bolton Evening News . Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  9. Amy Shields (4 June 2010). "Beales acquires Robbs of Hexham". Retail Week.
  10. "Beales acquires Rochdale department store". HousewaresLive.Net. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
  11. Amy Shields; Nicola Harrison (5 April 2011). "Beales to acquire 19 department stores". Drapers.
  12. "Beales department store to close in Maidstone". Kent Online. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  13. "Beale weather woes". Stock Market Wire. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  14. "Council unanimously rejects "shabby" and "appalling" Beales flats plans". The Herald Scotland. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Council unanimously rejects "shabby" and "appalling" Beales flats plans". Lancashire Telegraph. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  16. "Beales Department Store Planning Application". Conor Burns MP. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. Farrell, Stephen (22 March 2016). "FLATS PLANNED FOR LANDMARK DEPARTMENT STORE". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 Coates, Liz. "Takeover deal for Palmers in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to complete at midnight". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  19. "Department store Beales warns of collapse risk". 12 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  20. "Beales to close more than half of its stores". BBC News. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  21. "Final Beales department stores set to close". BBC News. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Beales stores are all closing for good today". Bournemouth Echo. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  23. "Beales took £9.6m in barely a month after administrators launched clearance sales". Bournemouth Echo. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  24. "University Hospitals Dorset becomes first NHS trust to launch 'Think Big' project". Building Better Healthcare. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jahshan, Elias (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus prompts last 11 Beales stores to shut down 2 weeks early". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  26. Reader, Jane (3 August 2020). "Beales department store reopens in Poole's Dolphin Centre today". Daily Echo (Bournemouth). Newsquest. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  27. 1 2 Reports and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 October 1993. JE Beale PLC. 1993.
  28. Brown, Andrew (2 June 2024). "Beales department store in Southport ready to say farewell with closing down sale for shoppers". Stand Up for Southport. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  29. "Beales' store closing in Abingdon – few days left". Abingdon Blog. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Annual Report and Accounts 2011. Beale plc.
  31. Grubb, Sophie (12 January 2017). "Department store is gone - but it could become a furniture store". Oxford Mail. Newsquest. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  32. Ayres, Linda S. "Ezra Braggins – Founder of E Braggins & Sons". Foster Hill Road Cemetery. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  33. "Bedford: Bid to make old department store space into smaller shops". BBC News. BBC. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  34. Priestley, Catherine (6 October 2016). "Bishop Auckland's biggest high street shop Beales is to shut". The Northern Echo . Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  35. 1 2 3 Reports and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 26 October 1985. JE Beale PLC. 1985.
  36. 1 2 Reports and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 29 October 1994. Beale PLC. 1994.
  37. Report and Accounts 1996. Beale plc.
  38. "The history of Bolton's iconic Beales department store in Deansgate". The Bolton News. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  39. Slade, Darren (19 February 2015). "134 years of Beales: a look at the department store's long history". Bournemouth Daily Echo . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  40. Grassby, Jade (14 July 2019). "The Avenue shopping centre in Bournemouth is being developed". Bournemouth Daily Echo . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  41. The Forest Pioneers - The Co-Operative Movement in the Forest of Dean (PDF). Oxford: Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-Operative Society Limited. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  42. 1 2 3 4 Annual Report 1991. JE Beale plc.
  43. 1 2 Annual Report 1992. JE Beale plc.
  44. 1 2 3 Report and Accounts 2002. Beale plc.
  45. Mckellar, Hope (8 November 2019). "Beales department store has officially opened in Fareham Shopping Centre". Portsmouth News . Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  46. "Beales kicks off stores drive with new format". Retail Week. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  47. "Store Finder". Beales.co.uk. Beales. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  48. 1 2 Whelan, Grace (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus accelerates Beales stores closures". Drapers. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  49. 1 2 Annual Report and Accounts 2010. Beale plc.
  50. 1 2 3 Report and Accounts 1999. Beale plc.
  51. "BREAKING NEWS: Major retailer in Horsham to close". Sussex World. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  52. "Beales reveals store's closure". Keighley News. Newsquest. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  53. Bargh, Becky (10 February 2020). "Beales closes 50% of stores as buyers give chain wide berth". Cosmetics Business. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  54. Bale, David (26 April 2016). "Beales' store closing in King's Lynn". Eastern Daily Press . Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  55. Boyle, Danny (27 February 2013). "Beales department Store to Close in Maidstone". Kent Online. KM Media Group. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  56. "Beales: Former Mansfield department store to become community hub". BBC News. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  57. Jahshan, Elias (13 September 2017). "Beales set to open first Scottish store on site of former McEwans of Perth". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  58. Burns, Hamish (18 March 2020). "Beales department store in Perth to close down two weeks early". The Insider. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  59. Fish, Isabella (24 March 2021). "Beales to reopen Peterborough store". Drapers Online. Emap Publishing. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  60. Grinnell, Paul (25 October 2023). "Furniture Retailer is Moving into Former Beales Store in Peterborough". Peterborough Today. National World Publishing. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  61. "Beales department store set to close 1st August". www.rochdaletowncentre.co.uk.
  62. "Saffron Walden's flagship store gets new lease of life". Saffron Walden Reporter. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  63. Steward, Michael (4 November 2016). "Beales in Saffron Walden closing earlier than expected". Saffron Walden Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  64. "'Community' store Beales announces shock closure". Surrey Live. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  65. "14 things you'll only know if you grew up in Walton in the 1980s and 1990s". Surrey Live. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  66. Napier, Andrew (26 April 2016). "Beales to close store in Winchester". Hampshire Chronicle . Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  67. "Beales in Yeovil closes down early amid coronavirus outbreak". Somerset Live. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2024.