Selfridge Provincial Stores was a holding company of a group of department stores in the United Kingdom. The company was formed by Selfridge & Co. in 1926 and was active until 1940.
In 1926, financier Jimmy White convinced Harry Gordon Selfridge to restructure his company. One of the new initiatives taken by Selfridge was the creation of Selfridge Provincial Stores. White had based his ideas on Clarence Hatry's Drapery Trust. [1] It brought together the disparate drapery businesses acquired by Selfridge since 1918 and provided a strong vehicle for new acquisitions. The new company was over subscribed and opened with a working capital of £3.3 million. Stores in the group retained their local, often long-established, identities but were united under the banner of 'SPS'. The marketing techniques which had proved successful at Selfridges' flagship Oxford Street store were employed across the group.
The first purchase made by the company was the Bon Marché group in south London, owners of Pratts of Streatham, Barrett Brothers of Clapham and Quin & Axten, as well as the eponymous Brixton flagship. [1] H. Gordon Selfridge Jr. was made managing director. A year later Cole Brothers of Sheffield was added and by 1929 Selfridges combined trading activities formed the biggest retail group in Europe. [2] The Selfridge Provincial Stores were: [3]
By the 1930s the Selfridges empire was collapsing. With the advent of the Second World War Harry Selfridge left Britain for the safety of America and in 1941 his title of president was removed and he was ousted from the board of Selfridges & Co. [1]
The struggling SPS group, reduced to sixteen department stores by this time, was sold to the John Lewis Partnership in 1940. [4]
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 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, in Paris and in New York (Stewart's).
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908.
The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held 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 is 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.
Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom.
Frederick & Nelson was a department store chain in the northwestern United States, based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891 as a furniture store, it later expanded to sell other types of merchandise. The company was acquired by Marshall Field & Company in 1929. By 1980, the Frederick & Nelson chain had expanded to 10 stores in two states. The company went out of business in 1992. Its former Seattle flagship store building is now occupied by the flagship Nordstrom store.
House of Fraser is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now 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.
The Bon Marché, whose French name translates to "the good market" or "the good deal", was a department store chain launched in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1890 by Edward Nordhoff. The name was influenced by Le Bon Marché, the noted Parisian retailer.
Lewis's was a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's have gone into administration many times over the years, including 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became the flagship of the chain of stores operating under the Lewis's name. 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 the Vergo Retail Ltd and closed in 2010.
George Henry Lee was a department store located in Liverpool, England, and became part of the John Lewis group.
John Lewis & Partners is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout the United Kingdom, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the employee-owned mutual organisation known as the John Lewis Partnership, the largest co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. From 1925 to 2022, the chain had a policy that it would always at least match a lower price offered by a national high street competitor; this pledge was known by the name "Never Knowingly Undersold".
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.
Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stores, a holding company founded in 1928. In 1935 Hahn's was reorganized into Allied Stores.
Wooyoungmi is a South Korean menswear clothing brand launched in Paris by the designer Youngmi Woo in 2002. It is sold through own-brand stores and global retailers. Art and architecture are sources of inspiration for the brand. The brand has become known for tailoring. In 2014, The Korea Herald wrote that “Wooyoungmi has become the most successful Korean independent menswear designer brand.”
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. The company played a significant role in establishing Kensington High Street as one of London's principal shopping destinations for most of the twentieth century. The business was purchased by House of Fraser in 1957. Barkers closed permanently in 2006. Part of the former flagship building now contains a branch of Whole Foods Market (2019).
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.
Drapery Trust was formed in 1925 by Clarence Hatry, a notorious British financier. He had made his fortune in speculating on oil stocks, and had convinced investors to promote department stores and bring them under the management of a retail conglomerate.
E Dingle & Co was a department store chain with its flagship store in Plymouth, England. It is now part of House of Fraser group.
Cole Brothers was a department store located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Pratts was a department store located in Streatham High Road, London. Established in the 1850s it became part of the John Lewis chain before its closure in 1990.