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House of Fraser and Frasers are 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.
Aug 20, 2013 · 1849 – House of Fraser, then known as Arthur and Fraser, is founded by Hugh Fraser and James Arthur with a shop on the corner of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street in Glasgow, while a wholesale business is established in the adjoining premises
In 1953, Fraser acquired the Binns chain of stores, a company that had started out with a single shop in Wearmouth in 1836. The Binns acquisition proved merely a prelude to a larger acquisition. In 1959, the House of Fraser, as the company had come to be called, acquired the Harrods department store chain.
- The Early Years
- Fraser & Sons
- Growth and Expansion
- 1950's Until 1970's
- 1980's
- Late 1980's and 1990's
The company was founded in 1849, when partners Hugh Fraser and James Arthur opened a small drapery shop on the corner of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street in Glasgow. The business premises required extensive alteration to create a new access point from Buchanan Street.Hugh Fraser was born in 1815, the son of a Dunbartonshire farmer. He was apprenti...
Hugh Fraser (the first) died in 1873 and under the terms of his will each of his five sons was given the chance to purchase a share in the business for the sum of £8,000. The three eldest sons, James, John and Hugh, eventually did so, although all were minors when their father died, so the trustees watched after their interests until they came of a...
Hugh Fraser II was an excellent businessman and he consolidated the company's position. His son, Hugh Fraser III, who took over the company after the death of his father in 1927, wanted to build on the strong base his father had left and undertake ambitious expansion for the company. Hugh Fraser III was born in 1903 and initially started to train a...
When the company, now named House of Fraser, went public in 1948, it already comprised sixteen different Scottish branches. It was not until 1951, when the company purchased McDonalds Ltd, ironically where Hugh Fraser I had completed his apprenticeship, that they had an outlet in England. Although McDonalds Ltd was a Scottish company it also had a ...
The early 1980's were difficult years with an economic recession and fierce competition in the high street, compounded by the LONRHO Group's attempt to intervene in the running of the company's affairs. In 1981 Professor Roland Smith replaced Sir Hugh Fraser as chairman. A takeover bid by LONRHO was referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission...
In March 1985, House of Fraser was purchased by the Al Fayed family in a £615 million deal. The Al Fayeds owned important international shipping, oil, banking and property businesses and supported the continuing expansion of the company and the introduction of a new corporate identity. In 1985, the stag's head logo of the company was replaced by a ...
On 10 August 2018, the House of Fraser entered administration. Later that day, Sports Direct International agreed to buy all House of Fraser UK stores, the House of Fraser brand, and all of the stock in the business for £90 million in cash, converting all old House of Fraser stores into Sports Direct.
Aug 11, 2018 · It was a Scottish success story for more than 150 years, yet has been brought low in the space of two decades. Founded as a drapery shop called Arthur and Fraser in Glasgow in 1849, the company was content to grow slowly, adding a wholesale operation in central Glasgow.
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House of Fraser was founded as a small drapery shop in Glasgow in 1849 by Hugh Fraser and James Arthur, before expanding and opening branches internationally. The wholesale business became separated from the retail side and was named Arthur & Co.
