Frasers

House of Fraser (in the process of rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 22 locations across the United Kingdom and 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. After the Second World War a large number of acquisitions transformed the company into a national chain. Purchases included Scottish Drapery Corporation (1952), Binns (1953), Barkers of Kensington (1957) and the Harrods group (1959). Later acquisitions included J J Allen (1969), Dingles (1971), Howells of Cardiff (1972) and Army & Navy Stores (1973). The group was purchased by the Al Fayed family in 1985 for £615 million, beating out Tiny Rowland for control. By 1993, the management of the group were making attempts to purchase the group from the Al Fayeds, and a floatation was agreed, with the group initially trading separately as House of Fraser Holdings with the Fayed group. The public float happened in 1995, when it was listed in the FTSE Index as House of Fraser plc, with Harrods moved into the private ownership of the Al Fayeds. In the 1990s, several stores were closed and fifteen stores transferred to a joint venture with British Land Company, which then continued operating under their old name. The former Harrods group store D H Evans on Oxford Street, London was re-branded as House of Fraser in 2001 and became the chain's flagship store. In 2005, the group acquired Jenners (£46m), and Beatties (£69m). In 2006, the firm was acquired by a consortium of investors (Highland Group Holdings) including Icelandic based Landsbanki (35%). An online store was launched in 2007. In 2014, the group (as Highland Group Holdings Ltd) was sold to Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store Co. (Sanpower Group), a leading chain of Chinese department stores for approximately £450 million. In May 2018, the group entered a company voluntary arrangement, and in June the closure of 31 stores was announced. On 10 August 2018, Mike Ashley's Sports Direct chain agreed to buy the business (stores, stock, brand) for £90 million after the chain went into administration earlier that day. In 2023, it was announced that the business would re-brand under the Frasers name-plate after a successful trial.