Selfridges
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![]() Selfridges flagship store in London | |
Selfridges | |
Company type | Private limited company |
Industry | Retail |
Genre | Department store |
Founded | 1908 |
Founder | Harry Gordon Selfridge |
Headquarters | 400 Oxford Street London, United Kingdom |
Number of locations | Four: Oxford Street, London Trafford Centre, Manchester Exchange Sq., Manchester Bullring, Birmingham |
Key people | Andrew Keith[1] (Managing Director) |
Owners | Central Group (50%)[2][3] Signa Holding (50%)[4] |
Parent | Selfridges & Co. Limited[5] |
Website | www |
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of large 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 historic Daniel Burnham-designed Selfridges flagship store at 400 Oxford Street in London is the second-largest shop in the UK (after Harrods). It opened on 15 March 1909. Other Selfridges stores opened in Manchester at the Trafford Centre (1998) and Exchange Square (2002), and in Birmingham at the Bullring (2003).
During the 1940s, smaller Selfridges stores were sold to the John Lewis Partnership, and in 1951, the original Oxford Street store was bought by the Liverpool-based Lewis's chain of department stores. Lewis's and Selfridges were then taken over in 1965 by the Sears Group, owned by Charles Clore. The business expanded under the Sears Group to include branches in Manchester and Birmingham. It was bought in 2003 by Canada's Galen Weston for £598 million. In December 2021, the Weston family agreed to sell the majority of Selfridges Group for around £4 billion to a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
Selfridges & Co. was named the Best Department Store in the World in 2010, 2012 and 2014.[6]
It is owned by the Signa Holding group, which is owned by Austrian real estate billionaire René Benko. It filed for administration in 2023.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Selfridges names Andrew Keith as new managing director". Retail Gazette. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ↑ "London's luxury department store Selfridges is now owned by René Benko". Globalhappenings. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ↑ "Selfridges bought by Austrian Property firm Signa Holding and Thai retailer Central Group in £4bn deal", Sky News. Retrieved: 29 December 2021.
- ↑ "Brand Communications". Selfridges. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ↑ "Persons with significant control". Companies House. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ↑ "Our Heritage." Selfridges & Co. , n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.
- ↑ "European luxury property group Signa files for administration". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.