Origins
British Home Stores was founded in 1928 by a group of U.S. entrepreneurs[9] who wanted to follow the successful model set by Woolworths. They did not want go into direct competition with Woolworths, so set their highest price at a shilling. The first store opened in Brixton,[9] and by 1929 the price limit had been lifted to five shillings to allow the business to offer more goods.[10]
The business expanded by opening further branches, all offering small cafeterias and grocery departments, and in 1933 the business went public.[10] After the war, the business continued to grow, and by the end of the 1960s had 94 stores nationwide.[10]
Expansion
The company expanded in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a member of the FTSE 100 when that index was launched in 1984.[11] Stores were opened in the developing wave of indoor shopping centres, such as Broadway Shopping Centre and Lakeside Shopping Centre. A joint venture was launched with supermarket retailer Sainsbury's to create hypermarkets using the SavaCentre brand;[12] Sainsbury's took full control of SavaCentre in 1989, and later converted the stores to the Sainsbury's branding.
A downturn in business in the early 1980s was countered with a revamp of the stores and the selling of goods with higher profit margins. The company closed its only overseas store, in Dublin, Ireland, during this time (although there was a rapidly aborted re-entry in 1996 via a franchise store in Dublin's Jervis Centre). In 1985, the first overseas franchise store opened in Gibraltar.[13] Such stores, not directly owned by the BHS company but supplied with BHS products, have operated in several places in Europe and the Middle East.
Takeover by Philip Green
In the mid-1990s, the brand saw a further reinvention under guidance from retail design house '20:20'. The new look was showcased with the launch of the "millennium concept" shopfit, initially at the Grafton Centre, Cambridge during 1995. With its softer Bhs "signature" logo and warm interior lighting, the concept attempted with varying degrees of success to meet the needs of the modern, more sophisticated shopper.
In 1995, BHS was the first high street retailer to open a branch in Moscow. The £3 million venture was the largest in the international portfolio and was quickly followed by the opening of a second store in St Petersburg. Further stores opened in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 1998, and there were stores in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. By 2000 the chain also had stores in Greece, Tenerife, Gibraltar, Malta and the Far East.
During the late 1990s, the stores which formed Storehouse Plc fell on hard times; BHS and Mothercare were the worst affected. Following a number of years of tough trading, Philip Green bought BHS from Storehouse Plc in May 2000 for £200 million. He then changed the company from public (Plc) to private (Ltd). In 2002, Green went on to acquire the Arcadia Group of high street retailers, which included Topshop, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis
Return to British Home Stores
In May 2005, Green, owner of BHS, purchased Etam UK from its French owner, Etam Développement.[20] The Etam UK brands included Etam, Amelie May, and Tammy. The girls' fashion retailer Tammy was the strongest brand in terms of sales and consumer recognition. For this reason, and to help improve girls' perception of BHS as a whole, from September 2005 stand-alone stores were closed and the brand integrated into BHS stores.
In 2005, BHS resurrected its British Home Stores fascia, more than 20 years after it had disappeared from the UK high street.[21] The move followed the purchase of several former Allders at Home sites from the department store chain. These projects were designed to build upon the success of the homewares and lighting that BHS stores currently offered and to tap into new areas of business such as furniture, curtains, rugs, and wall art. Brands sold included Denby, Maxwell Williams, Typhoon, Brabantia, Terence Conran and Jasper Conran.
In 2005, Green's wife, a Monaco resident, received a £1.2 billion dividend from Arcadia.[22]
On 27 February 2009, it was announced that the company would be integrated into the Arcadia Group.
Leadership changes
Mike Goring was appointed managing director to the chain in May 2009, and in July, Jacquie Gray was appointed Creative Director. In 2010, BHS changed its logo, resurrecting the uppercase form of the abbreviation that had not been used since the Storehouse rebrand and the later rebrand in the 1990s. A new e-commerce website was launched, and a new store design was gradually introduced across the estate.
In 2011, a store in Armenia opened.
Goring left BHS in 2012 to take up the position of Retail Director for Debenhams.[24] After he left, former Marks and Spencer Menswear Trading Director, Richard Price was appointed managing director.[25] Gray left in 2014.
In 2013, a franchised concession opened in the Falkland Islands and a store was opened in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.[26]
In January 2014, it was announced that the chain would sell branded food products; the service was to be trialled in 50 stores with the intention of making this a permanent addition in up to 150 stores.
Sale and restructuring
On 12 March 2015, it was announced that BHS had been sold to Retail Acquisitions for a nominal price of £1.[34] It was also confirmed that Richard Price had left his post as managing director for a position with the clothing arm of Tesco; former BHS Chief Operating Officer Darren Topp was confirmed as the interim Chief Executive.[35] Shortly after the takeover, 51 of the company's 171 stores were reported as being under threat of closure.[36]
In September 2015, BHS owners Retail Acquisitions announced another rebrand, as part of a £60m rejuvenation plan, which resulted in the full British Home Stores name being resurrected on the high street for the first time since 1986. A programme of modernising stores with the new branding was announced, while plans to roll out food halls were to continue.[37]
By early 2016, periodic store closures had seen the company withdraw entirely from several city centres including Bath,[38]
Administration
On 24 April 2016, Dominic Chappell (owner of Retail Acquisitions) announced that administrators would be appointed the next day.[46] It was announced that the chain had entered administration on 25 April 2016, putting 11,000 jobs at risk. Duff & Phelps were appointed administrators and sought to sell the business as a going concern. It at this point had debts of £1.3 billion including £571 million in pension liabilities, meaning either individual assets (such as stores) would have to be sold or the chain would be in new ownership. UK sports chain Sports Direct was reported to be in talks to buy a number of BHS stores, but no buyer was found for the company, resulting in the closure of BHS stores. Head office staff were made redundant on the announcement that no buyer had been found, with stores expected to last up to 8 weeks selling the remaining stock.
In July 2016, a committee of the UK parliament issued a report titled "Leadership failures and personal greed led to collapse of BHS".[47] The Guardian reported "Sir Philip Green's reputation ripped apart in damning report on BHS demise. MPs say retailer's former owners subjected it to 'systematic plunder' and describe the collapse as 'unacceptable face of capitalism'".[48]
2024 legal disputes over administration process
In June 2024, the High Court ordered two former directors of the company, Lennart Hennington and Dominic Chandler, to pay £18m, made up of £13m for wrongful trading, and £5m for breach of corporate duties. This was as a result of legal action brought by the liquidator on behalf of the creditors. A further hearing is due in June 2024, at which a final decision will be made on the total amount to be paid by the two men.[51]
