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Selfridges

May 04, 2023

This article is about the department store. For other uses, see Selfridge (disambiguation).

Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a group of luxury department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores.[1] It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908.[1]

Selfridges Retail Limited
Selfridges flagship store in London
Selfridges
TypePrivate limited company
IndustryRetail
GenreDepartment stores
Founded1908; 115 years ago (1908)[1]
FounderHarry Gordon Selfridge
Headquarters400 Oxford Street
London, United Kingdom
Number of locations
Four:
Oxford Street, London
Trafford Centre, Manchester
Exchange Sq., Manchester
Bullring, Birmingham
Key people
Alannah Weston, Chair of Selfridges Group[2]
Anne Pitcher, Managing Director, Selfridges
Anne Pitcher, Managing Director, Selfridges Group
Linda Hewson, Creative Director
OwnersCentral Group (50%)[3][4]
Signa Holding (50%)[5]
ParentSelfridges & Co. Limited[6]
Websitewww.selfridges.com

The historic Daniel Burnham-designed flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second-largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened on 15 March 1909.[7] Other Selfridges stores opened in the Trafford Centre (1998) and Exchange Square (2002) in Manchester, and in the Bullring in Birmingham (2003).

In the 1940s, smaller provincial Selfridges stores were sold to the John Lewis Partnership, and in 1951, the original Oxford Street store was acquired by the Liverpool-based Lewis's chain of department stores.[8] Lewis's and Selfridges were then taken over in 1965 by the Sears Group, owned by Charles Clore.[9] Expanded under the Sears Group to include branches in Manchester and Birmingham,[10] the chain was acquired in 2003 by Canada's Galen Weston for £598 million.[11]

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.[12][13] The acquisition was completed on 23 August 2022.[14]

History

The basis of Harry Gordon Selfridge's success was his relentlessly innovative marketing, which was elaborately expressed in his Oxford Street store. Originally from America himself, Selfridge attempted to dismantle the idea that consumerism was strictly an American phenomenon.[15] He tried to make shopping a fun adventure and a form of leisure instead of a chore,[16] transforming the department store into a social and cultural landmark that provided women with a public space in which they could be comfortable and legitimately indulge themselves.[15] Emphasizing the importance of creating a welcoming environment, he placed merchandise on display so customers could examine it, moved the highly profitable perfume counter front-and-centre on the ground floor, and established policies that made it safe and easy for customers to shop. These techniques have been adopted by modern department stores around the world.

Either Selfridge or Marshall Field is popularly held to have coined the phrase "the customer is always right",[17] and Selfridge used it regularly in his advertising.

Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits and was himself interested in education and science, believing that the displays would introduce potential new customers to Selfridges and thus generate both immediate and long-term sales.

In 1909, after the first cross-Channel flight, Louis Blériot's monoplane was put on display at Selfridges, where it was seen by 12,000 people. John Logie Baird made the first public demonstration of moving silhouette images by television from the first floor of Selfridges from 1 to 27 April 1925.[18]

In the 1920s and 1930s, the roof of the store hosted terraced gardens, cafes, a mini golf course and an all-girl gun club. The roof, with its extensive views across London, was a common place for strolling after a shopping trip and was often used for fashion shows.[19] During the Second World War, The store's basement was used as an air-raid shelter and during raids employees were usually on the lookout for incendiary bombs and took watch in turns.[20]

A Milne-Shaw seismograph was set up on the Oxford Street store's third floor in 1932, attached to one of the building's main stanchions, where it remained unaffected by traffic or shoppers. It successfully recorded the Belgian earthquake of 11 June 1938, which was also felt in London. In 1947, it was given to the British Museum. The huge SIGSALY scrambling apparatus, by which transatlantic conferences between American and British officials (most notably Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt) were secured against eavesdropping, was housed in the basement from 1943 on, with extension to the Cabinet War Rooms about a mile away.[21]

 
Selfridges at the Trafford Centre, which opened in 1998

In 1926, Selfridges set up the Selfridge Provincial Stores company, which had expanded over the years to include sixteen provincial stores, but these were sold to the John Lewis Partnership in 1940. The Liverpool-based Lewis's chain of department stores acquired the remaining Oxford Street Shop in 1951, expanding the brand by adding Moultons of Ilford, purchased from rival chain R H O Hills and renaming the store Selfridges.[22] In 1965 the business was purchased by the Sears Group, owned by Charles Clore.[9] Under the Sears group, branches in Ilford and Oxford opened, with the latter remaining Selfridges until 1986, when Sears rebranded it as a Lewis's store. In 1990, Sears Holdings split Selfridges from Lewis's and placed Lewis's in administration a year later. In March 1998, Selfridges acquired its current logo in tandem with the opening of the Manchester Trafford Centre store and Selfridges' demerger from Sears.

In September 1998, Selfridges expanded and opened a department store in the newly-opened Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester. Following its success, Selfridges announced they would open an additional 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m2) store in Exchange Square, Manchester city centre. The Exchange Square store opened in 2002 as Manchester city centre started to return to normal following the 1996 Manchester bombing. A 260,000-square-foot (24,000 m2)[10] store opened in 2003 in Birmingham's Bull Ring.

 
Selfridges at Exchange Square, Manchester

In 2003, the chain was acquired by Canada's Galen Weston for £598 million and became part of Selfridges Group, which also includes Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland, Holt Renfrew in Canada and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands. Weston, a retailing expert who is also the owner of major supermarket chains in Canada, has chosen to invest in the renovation of the Oxford Street store – rather than to create new stores in British cities other than Manchester and Birmingham.[23]

In October 2009, Selfridges revived its rooftop entertainment with the pop up "The Restaurant on the Roof" restaurant.[24] In July 2011, Truvia created an emerald green boating lake (with a waterfall, a boat-up cocktail bar and a forest of Stevia plants).[25] In 2012 the Big Rooftop Tea and Golf Party featured "the highest afternoon tea on Oxford Street" and a nine-hole golf course with "the seven wonders of London" realised in cake as obstacles.[26]

In August 2020, during a difficult time for UK retail, Selfridges offered luxury pieces for hire to millennial and socially conscious clients. The store partnered with HURR, an online fashion rental platform, offering hire of 100 items from over 40 fashion brands for up to 20 days at a time.[27]

The Weston family put the Selfridges business up for auction in July 2021, with an estimated value of £4 billion. The sale includes all stores including the flagship Oxford Street store and worldwide outlets.[28] In early December 2021, the family was reported to be finalising the chain's sale to Central Group.[29][30][31]

On December 24, 2021, it was announced that the majority of Selfridges Group had been sold to a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Central Group and the Austrian Signa Holding for around £4 billion ($5.37 billion); the former owner (the Canadian branch of the Weston family) had bought Selfridges for nearly £600 million in 2003.[32] The acquisition was completed on 23 August 2022.

The shop's early history was dramatised in ITV's 2013 series, Mr Selfridge.[33]

Architecture

Selfridge stores are known for architectural innovation and excellence, and are tourist destinations in their own right.[34] The original London store was designed by Daniel Burnham, who also created the Marshall Field's main store in his home town of Chicago. Burnham was the leading American department store designer of the time and had works in Boston (Filenes's), New York (Gimbel's, Wanamaker's), and Philadelphia (Wanamaker's, his magnum opus).[35]

The London store was built in phases. The first phase consisted of only the nine-and-a-half bays closest to the Duke Street corner,[36] and is an example of one of the earliest uses of steel cage frame construction for this type of building in London. This circumstance, according to the report of a contemporary London correspondent from the Chicago Tribune, was largely responsible for making possible the eventual widespread use of Chicago’s steel frame cage construction system in the United Kingdom.

“Under the pressure of [Mr. Selfridge] and the interests allied with him, the councilors admitted the soundness of American building methods and framed a bill which will be pressed at once in parliament [sic] to permit these methods to be used here.”[37]

A scheme to erect a massive tower above the store was never carried out.

Also involved in the design of the store were American architect Francis Swales, who worked on decorative details, and British architects R. Frank Atkinson and Thomas Smith Tait.[38][39] The distinctive polychrome sculpture above the Oxford Street entrance is the work of British sculptor Gilbert Bayes.

The Daily Telegraph named Selfridges in London the world's best department store in 2010.[40]

 
Detail of sculpture above the London store's entrance

The Trafford store is noted for its use of stone and marble and for the exterior which strikingly resembles the London store. Each of the five floors of the Exchange Square store in central Manchester was designed by a different architect and has its own look and feel. In December 2009, store officials announced that the store will undergo a £40 million renovation to give it a more "iconic" look[clarification needed] that has been associated with Selfridges. It has been announced the store will feature art installations using LED lighting that will be projected to the outside of the building at night.[citation needed]

The Birmingham store, designed by architects Future Systems, is covered in 15,000 spun aluminium discs on a background of Yves Klein Blue.[41] Since it opened in 2003, the Birmingham store has been named every year by industry magazine Retail Week as one of the 100 stores to visit in the world.[42] The building is also included as a desktop background in the Architecture theme in Windows 7.

Windows

 
A Selfridges window display

Selfridges' windows have become synonymous also with the brand, and to a certain degree have become as famous as the company and Oxford Street location itself. Selfridges has a history of bold art initiatives when it comes to the window designs. Selfridge himself likened the act of shopping to the act of attending the theatre and encouraged his customers to make this connection as well by covering his show windows with silk curtains before dramatically unveiling the displays on opening day.[15] Just as they do today, the window designs served as the opening act of the entire play of the Selfridge experience and helped capture the public’s attention to transform customers into true shoppers. Later, when the building was undergoing restoration,[43] the scaffolding was shrouded with a giant photograph of stars such as Sir Elton John by Sam Taylor-Wood. The windows consistently attract tourists, designers and fashionistas alike to marvel at the current designs and styling and fashion trends.

Since 2002, the windows have been photographed by London photographer Andrew Meredith and published in magazines such as Vogue, Dwell, Icon, Frame, Creative Review, Hungarian Stylus Magazine, Design Week, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, WGSN as well as many worldwide media outlets, including the world wide press, journals, blogs and published books.[44]

Opening day and marketing

 
During opening week, a full-page ad in The Times touted the store's size, spaciousness, nine "electric lifts", 1200 sales assistants in 100 departments, "many telephone wires", "numberless bright arc lamps", and other amenities provided "free of charge to every visitor without the slightest obligation to purchase".[45]
 
Printed three months after opening, this advertisement assured readers of not only "London's Lowest Prices—Always", but that "the question of Quality comes emphatically first", and that all goods are sold "on Honour" (with moneyback guarantee).[46]

The long lasting influence that Harry Selfridge would have on shopping and department stores became immediately clear with Selfridges' opening day. The store’s opening to much fanfare on 15 March 1909 laid the foundation for the success of the entire lifestyle that Selfridge aimed to promote. Even before the unveiling of the window displays, innovative marketing techniques set up the momentous occasion and the store for great success.[47]

Harry Selfridge developed close relationships with the media to ensure that his store and its opening were properly publicized.[15] The opening week ad campaign relied mainly on unpaid promotions in the form of news articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals. As time progressed, Selfridge took the more traditional form of marketing by writing daily columns under the pen name Callisthenes.[15] Overall, however, one of the most effective marketing tools proved to be the opening week cartoons focusing on the grand event. Selfridge enlisted the help of thirty-eight of London’s top illustrators to draw hundreds of full page, half page, and quarter page advertisements for eighteen newspapers.[48] This innovative combination of direct advertisements and newspaper publicities proved to be quite effective at drawing the crowds to the store.

The marketing continued on opening day itself. Touted as “London’s Greatest Store,” Selfridges immediately became a cultural and social phenomenon. From the store's soft lighting to the general absence of price tags to live music from string quartets, every detail of the opening was purposeful to draw people into the entire shopping experience and make each shopper feel unique.[48] At Selfridges, shoppers entered another world in which they became "guests," as the store referred to them, and could purchase unique items that differed from the material goods sold in other stores.[48] The successes of the marketing campaign and the store’s opening day highlight that Selfridges sold an entire lifestyle, not just an impressive array of material products.

Controversies

In culture

ITV and Masterpiece produced a series entitled Mr Selfridge, first airing on ITV beginning in January 2013 (in ten parts), and later on PBS starting on 30 March 2013 (in eight parts).[57] ITV began airing ten additional episodes in January 2014.[58] The fourth series began in 2016 with the first episode airing on 8 January 2016.[58]

Selfridges was also featured in the 2017 movie Wonder Woman as the shop where Steve Trevor takes Diana Prince to give her a more contemporary appearance to blend in.

The brand has worked with artists like Jaden Smith and others throughout its history.[59]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Selfridges Retail Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. ^ Jones, Nina (15 January 2014). "Alannah Weston Moves Up at Selfridges". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  3. ^ "London's luxury department store Selfridges is now owned by René Benko". Globalhappenings. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Selfridges bought by Austrian Property firm Signa Holding and Thai retailer Central Group in £4bn deal", Sky News. Retrieved: 29 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Brand Communications". Selfridges. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Persons with significant control". Companies House. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Our Heritage". Selfridges. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  8. ^ . The Liverpool Wiki. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  9. ^ a b Davenport-Hines, Richard (2004). "Clore, Sir Charles (1904–1979)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30943. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)subscription required
  10. ^ a b . PropertyMall.com. 18 February 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Selfridges UK expansion capped". BBC News. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  12. ^ White, Georgia (24 December 2021) Selfridges confirms sale to Central Group and Signa Holding, Retail Gazette. Retrieved: 29 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Selfridges sold for £4bn to Thai-Austrian alliance". BBC News. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Central Group acquires Selfridges". TTR Weekly. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e Rappaport, Erika (2000). Shopping for Pleasure: Women in the Making of London's West End. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 142–177. ISBN 978-0691044767.
  16. ^ "Selfridge: Making Shopping Fun | Picture Britain". Picture Britain. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  17. ^ "The customer is always right". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Hamilton Stamp Club Mr Selfridge".
  19. ^ Staveley-Wadham, Rose. "Selfridges Steps Out – The Opening of a Department Store As Told By Our Newspapers". blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Selfridges: 7 things you (probably) didn't know about the department store". History Extra. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  21. ^ Weadon, P. (January 2009). "Sigsaly Story". National Security Agency Central Security Service.
  22. ^ "Bids and deals". The Guardian pg. 13. 18 September 1962. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Selfridges UK expansion capped". BBC News. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  24. ^ "Pierre Koffmann Restaurant on the Roof Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street,". The Independent. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Preview: Truvia Boating Lake @ Selfridges Rooftop". Londonist. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  26. ^ . Selfridges. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  27. ^ "Selfridges Partners With Clothing Rental Company". BoF. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Selfridges up for auction with £4bn price tag". Proactiveinvestors UK. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  29. ^ Editor, Ashley Armstrong, Retail. "Selfridges sale to Thailand's Central Group agreed". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 December 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  30. ^ "Owners on cusp of selling Selfridges to Thai group for £4bn". the Guardian. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Selfridges owners agree £4bn sale to Thailand's Central Group - Retail Gazette". www.retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Selfridges sold to Thai and Austrian alliance in $5 billion deal".
  33. ^ Singh, Anita (24 September 2012). "From Selfridges to John Lewis, we've a treat in store". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  34. ^ "Another London must-see: Selfridges, the iconic luxury department store". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  35. ^ Hines, Thomas S. (31 October 1974). Burnham of Chicago. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago. ISBN 978-0195018363.
  36. ^ Historic England (28 September 2001). "Selfridges Store (1357436)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  37. ^ "H.G. SELFRIDGE WINS FIGHT WITH LONDON CITY COUNCIL – Last Obstacle Overcome by Chicagoan and Work on Oxford Street Is Being Pushed Rapidly". Chicago Daily Tribune. 9 February 1909. p. A2.
  38. ^ Morrison, Kathryn A. (2003). English Shops & Shopping: An Architectural History. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10219-4.
  39. ^ "Selfridges". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  40. ^ Collins, Nick (14 June 2010). "Selfridges named world's best department store". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  41. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (1 September 2003). "Top of the blobs". The Guardian. London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  42. ^ "Birmingham Selfridges named must see sight". The Daily Telegraph. London. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  43. ^ "Selfridges". TRC Windows. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  44. ^ Sinclair, Mark (2 February 2012). . Creative Review. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  45. ^ "Of Spaciousness and Accommodation". The Times. London. 18 March 1909. p. 4.
  46. ^ "Selfridges / The Recollection of Quality Remains Long After Price is Forgotten". The Times. London. 19 June 1909. p. 4.
  47. ^ Loeb, Walter. "Selfridges: A Shopper's Paradise With A Colorful Founder". Forbes. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  48. ^ a b c Outka, Elizabeth (2005). "Crossing the Great Divides: Selfridges, Modernity, and the Commodified Authentic". Modernism/Modernity. 12 (2): 311–328. doi:10.1353/mod.2005.0063. S2CID 18596478. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  49. ^ . The Daily Telegraph. London. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  50. ^ "Foie gras protesters go topless". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  51. ^ Martin Hickman (2 April 2008). "Vegetarian aristocrats and their campaign against the cruelty of Selfridges' foie gras". The Independent. London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  52. ^ "Selfridges Drops Foie Gras From Shelves–Geese Dance Everywhere". Vegetarian Star. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  53. ^ "Store apologises over 'sick' McQueen window display". Express.co.uk. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  54. ^ Booth, Robert (17 September 2013). "Selfridges assistant suspended for refusing to serve EDL leader's friend". The Guardian. theGuardian.com. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  55. ^ "No action after EDL leader's friend refused Selfridges service". BBC News. bbc.co.uk/news. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  56. ^ "Selfridges installs 'inhumane' anti-homeless spikes outside Manchester store". The Independent. London. 16 February 2015.
  57. ^ Hale, Mike (28 March 2013). "Fogging Up the Windows of a Big Store". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  58. ^ a b "Mr. Selfridge". IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  59. ^ Teen, Vanity (22 September 2021). "Jaden Smith Brings His Ethical World To Selfridges Vanity Teen 虚荣青年 Lifestyle & New Faces Magazine". www.vanityteen.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.

Further reading

  • Honeycombe, Gordon. Selfridges, Seventy-Five Years: The Story of the Store 1909–84. London, 1984. ISBN 0902935275.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Selfridges.
  • Selfridges website
  • Selfridges Group website

May 04, 2023
selfridges, this, article, about, department, store, other, uses, selfridge, disambiguation, also, known, group, luxury, department, stores, united, kingdom, that, operated, retail, limited, part, group, department, stores, founded, harry, gordon, selfridge, 1. This article is about the department store For other uses see Selfridge disambiguation Selfridges also known as Selfridges amp Co is a group of luxury department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited part of the Selfridges Group of department stores 1 It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908 1 Selfridges Retail LimitedSelfridges flagship store in LondonTrade nameSelfridgesTypePrivate limited companyIndustryRetailGenreDepartment storesFounded1908 115 years ago 1908 1 FounderHarry Gordon SelfridgeHeadquarters400 Oxford StreetLondon United KingdomNumber of locationsFour Oxford Street LondonTrafford Centre ManchesterExchange Sq ManchesterBullring BirminghamKey peopleAlannah Weston Chair of Selfridges Group 2 Anne Pitcher Managing Director SelfridgesAnne Pitcher Managing Director Selfridges GroupLinda Hewson Creative DirectorOwnersCentral Group 50 3 4 Signa Holding 50 5 ParentSelfridges amp Co Limited 6 Websitewww wbr selfridges wbr comThe historic Daniel Burnham designed flagship store on London s Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK after Harrods and opened on 15 March 1909 7 Other Selfridges stores opened in the Trafford Centre 1998 and Exchange Square 2002 in Manchester and in the Bullring in Birmingham 2003 In the 1940s smaller provincial Selfridges stores were sold to the John Lewis Partnership and in 1951 the original Oxford Street store was acquired by the Liverpool based Lewis s chain of department stores 8 Lewis s and Selfridges were then taken over in 1965 by the Sears Group owned by Charles Clore 9 Expanded under the Sears Group to include branches in Manchester and Birmingham 10 the chain was acquired in 2003 by Canada s Galen Weston for 598 million 11 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 12 13 The acquisition was completed on 23 August 2022 14 Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Windows 4 Opening day and marketing 5 Controversies 6 In culture 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory Edit Harry Gordon Selfridge c 1880 The basis of Harry Gordon Selfridge s success was his relentlessly innovative marketing which was elaborately expressed in his Oxford Street store Originally from America himself Selfridge attempted to dismantle the idea that consumerism was strictly an American phenomenon 15 He tried to make shopping a fun adventure and a form of leisure instead of a chore 16 transforming the department store into a social and cultural landmark that provided women with a public space in which they could be comfortable and legitimately indulge themselves 15 Emphasizing the importance of creating a welcoming environment he placed merchandise on display so customers could examine it moved the highly profitable perfume counter front and centre on the ground floor and established policies that made it safe and easy for customers to shop These techniques have been adopted by modern department stores around the world Either Selfridge or Marshall Field is popularly held to have coined the phrase the customer is always right 17 and Selfridge used it regularly in his advertising Selfridges flagship store in London Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits and was himself interested in education and science believing that the displays would introduce potential new customers to Selfridges and thus generate both immediate and long term sales In 1909 after the first cross Channel flight Louis Bleriot s monoplane was put on display at Selfridges where it was seen by 12 000 people John Logie Baird made the first public demonstration of moving silhouette images by television from the first floor of Selfridges from 1 to 27 April 1925 18 In the 1920s and 1930s the roof of the store hosted terraced gardens cafes a mini golf course and an all girl gun club The roof with its extensive views across London was a common place for strolling after a shopping trip and was often used for fashion shows 19 During the Second World War The store s basement was used as an air raid shelter and during raids employees were usually on the lookout for incendiary bombs and took watch in turns 20 A Milne Shaw seismograph was set up on the Oxford Street store s third floor in 1932 attached to one of the building s main stanchions where it remained unaffected by traffic or shoppers It successfully recorded the Belgian earthquake of 11 June 1938 which was also felt in London In 1947 it was given to the British Museum The huge SIGSALY scrambling apparatus by which transatlantic conferences between American and British officials most notably Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt were secured against eavesdropping was housed in the basement from 1943 on with extension to the Cabinet War Rooms about a mile away 21 Selfridges at the Trafford Centre which opened in 1998 In 1926 Selfridges set up the Selfridge Provincial Stores company which had expanded over the years to include sixteen provincial stores but these were sold to the John Lewis Partnership in 1940 The Liverpool based Lewis s chain of department stores acquired the remaining Oxford Street Shop in 1951 expanding the brand by adding Moultons of Ilford purchased from rival chain R H O Hills and renaming the store Selfridges 22 In 1965 the business was purchased by the Sears Group owned by Charles Clore 9 Under the Sears group branches in Ilford and Oxford opened with the latter remaining Selfridges until 1986 when Sears rebranded it as a Lewis s store In 1990 Sears Holdings split Selfridges from Lewis s and placed Lewis s in administration a year later In March 1998 Selfridges acquired its current logo in tandem with the opening of the Manchester Trafford Centre store and Selfridges demerger from Sears In September 1998 Selfridges expanded and opened a department store in the newly opened Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester Following its success Selfridges announced they would open an additional 125 000 square foot 11 600 m2 store in Exchange Square Manchester city centre The Exchange Square store opened in 2002 as Manchester city centre started to return to normal following the 1996 Manchester bombing A 260 000 square foot 24 000 m2 10 store opened in 2003 in Birmingham s Bull Ring Selfridges at Exchange Square Manchester In 2003 the chain was acquired by Canada s Galen Weston for 598 million and became part of Selfridges Group which also includes Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland Holt Renfrew in Canada and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands Weston a retailing expert who is also the owner of major supermarket chains in Canada has chosen to invest in the renovation of the Oxford Street store rather than to create new stores in British cities other than Manchester and Birmingham 23 In October 2009 Selfridges revived its rooftop entertainment with the pop up The Restaurant on the Roof restaurant 24 In July 2011 Truvia created an emerald green boating lake with a waterfall a boat up cocktail bar and a forest of Stevia plants 25 In 2012 the Big Rooftop Tea and Golf Party featured the highest afternoon tea on Oxford Street and a nine hole golf course with the seven wonders of London realised in cake as obstacles 26 In August 2020 during a difficult time for UK retail Selfridges offered luxury pieces for hire to millennial and socially conscious clients The store partnered with HURR an online fashion rental platform offering hire of 100 items from over 40 fashion brands for up to 20 days at a time 27 The Weston family put the Selfridges business up for auction in July 2021 with an estimated value of 4 billion The sale includes all stores including the flagship Oxford Street store and worldwide outlets 28 In early December 2021 the family was reported to be finalising the chain s sale to Central Group 29 30 31 On December 24 2021 it was announced that the majority of Selfridges Group had been sold to a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Central Group and the Austrian Signa Holding for around 4 billion 5 37 billion the former owner the Canadian branch of the Weston family had bought Selfridges for nearly 600 million in 2003 32 The acquisition was completed on 23 August 2022 The shop s early history was dramatised in ITV s 2013 series Mr Selfridge 33 Architecture Edit Selfridges Building Birmingham Selfridge stores are known for architectural innovation and excellence and are tourist destinations in their own right 34 The original London store was designed by Daniel Burnham who also created the Marshall Field s main store in his home town of Chicago Burnham was the leading American department store designer of the time and had works in Boston Filenes s New York Gimbel s Wanamaker s and Philadelphia Wanamaker s his magnum opus 35 The London store was built in phases The first phase consisted of only the nine and a half bays closest to the Duke Street corner 36 and is an example of one of the earliest uses of steel cage frame construction for this type of building in London This circumstance according to the report of a contemporary London correspondent from the Chicago Tribune was largely responsible for making possible the eventual widespread use of Chicago s steel frame cage construction system in the United Kingdom Under the pressure of Mr Selfridge and the interests allied with him the councilors admitted the soundness of American building methods and framed a bill which will be pressed at once in parliament sic to permit these methods to be used here 37 A scheme to erect a massive tower above the store was never carried out Also involved in the design of the store were American architect Francis Swales who worked on decorative details and British architects R Frank Atkinson and Thomas Smith Tait 38 39 The distinctive polychrome sculpture above the Oxford Street entrance is the work of British sculptor Gilbert Bayes The Daily Telegraph named Selfridges in London the world s best department store in 2010 40 Detail of sculpture above the London store s entrance The Trafford store is noted for its use of stone and marble and for the exterior which strikingly resembles the London store Each of the five floors of the Exchange Square store in central Manchester was designed by a different architect and has its own look and feel In December 2009 store officials announced that the store will undergo a 40 million renovation to give it a more iconic look clarification needed that has been associated with Selfridges It has been announced the store will feature art installations using LED lighting that will be projected to the outside of the building at night citation needed The Birmingham store designed by architects Future Systems is covered in 15 000 spun aluminium discs on a background of Yves Klein Blue 41 Since it opened in 2003 the Birmingham store has been named every year by industry magazine Retail Week as one of the 100 stores to visit in the world 42 The building is also included as a desktop background in the Architecture theme in Windows 7 Windows Edit A Selfridges window display Selfridges windows have become synonymous also with the brand and to a certain degree have become as famous as the company and Oxford Street location itself Selfridges has a history of bold art initiatives when it comes to the window designs Selfridge himself likened the act of shopping to the act of attending the theatre and encouraged his customers to make this connection as well by covering his show windows with silk curtains before dramatically unveiling the displays on opening day 15 Just as they do today the window designs served as the opening act of the entire play of the Selfridge experience and helped capture the public s attention to transform customers into true shoppers Later when the building was undergoing restoration 43 the scaffolding was shrouded with a giant photograph of stars such as Sir Elton John by Sam Taylor Wood The windows consistently attract tourists designers and fashionistas alike to marvel at the current designs and styling and fashion trends Since 2002 the windows have been photographed by London photographer Andrew Meredith and published in magazines such as Vogue Dwell Icon Frame Creative Review Hungarian Stylus Magazine Design Week Harper s Bazaar The New York Times WGSN as well as many worldwide media outlets including the world wide press journals blogs and published books 44 Opening day and marketing Edit During opening week a full page ad in The Times touted the store s size spaciousness nine electric lifts 1200 sales assistants in 100 departments many telephone wires numberless bright arc lamps and other amenities provided free of charge to every visitor without the slightest obligation to purchase 45 Printed three months after opening this advertisement assured readers of not only London s Lowest Prices Always but that the question of Quality comes emphatically first and that all goods are sold on Honour with moneyback guarantee 46 The long lasting influence that Harry Selfridge would have on shopping and department stores became immediately clear with Selfridges opening day The store s opening to much fanfare on 15 March 1909 laid the foundation for the success of the entire lifestyle that Selfridge aimed to promote Even before the unveiling of the window displays innovative marketing techniques set up the momentous occasion and the store for great success 47 Harry Selfridge developed close relationships with the media to ensure that his store and its opening were properly publicized 15 The opening week ad campaign relied mainly on unpaid promotions in the form of news articles in newspapers magazines and journals As time progressed Selfridge took the more traditional form of marketing by writing daily columns under the pen name Callisthenes 15 Overall however one of the most effective marketing tools proved to be the opening week cartoons focusing on the grand event Selfridge enlisted the help of thirty eight of London s top illustrators to draw hundreds of full page half page and quarter page advertisements for eighteen newspapers 48 This innovative combination of direct advertisements and newspaper publicities proved to be quite effective at drawing the crowds to the store The marketing continued on opening day itself Touted as London s Greatest Store Selfridges immediately became a cultural and social phenomenon From the store s soft lighting to the general absence of price tags to live music from string quartets every detail of the opening was purposeful to draw people into the entire shopping experience and make each shopper feel unique 48 At Selfridges shoppers entered another world in which they became guests as the store referred to them and could purchase unique items that differed from the material goods sold in other stores 48 The successes of the marketing campaign and the store s opening day highlight that Selfridges sold an entire lifestyle not just an impressive array of material products Controversies EditAfter protests by animal welfare advocates 49 50 51 in November 2009 Selfridges agreed to stop selling foie gras 52 a delicacy made from the livers of forcibly fattened ducks and geese In July 2010 Selfridges apologized publicly after its Manchester store displayed an Alexander McQueen garment hanging from a gallows like structure just months after the designer committed suicide by hanging 53 In September 2013 the store suspended a shop assistant who refused to serve a friend of Tommy Robinson 54 55 In February 2015 one of Selfridges stores in Manchester installed so called anti homeless spikes 56 In culture EditITV and Masterpiece produced a series entitled Mr Selfridge first airing on ITV beginning in January 2013 in ten parts and later on PBS starting on 30 March 2013 in eight parts 57 ITV began airing ten additional episodes in January 2014 58 The fourth series began in 2016 with the first episode airing on 8 January 2016 58 Selfridges was also featured in the 2017 movie Wonder Woman as the shop where Steve Trevor takes Diana Prince to give her a more contemporary appearance to blend in The brand has worked with artists like Jaden Smith and others throughout its history 59 References Edit a b c Selfridges Retail Limited Companies House Retrieved 28 September 2018 Jones Nina 15 January 2014 Alannah Weston Moves Up at Selfridges Women s Wear Daily Retrieved 15 January 2014 London s luxury department store Selfridges is now owned by Rene 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 Retrieved 28 September 2018 Lewis s The Liverpool Wiki Archived from the original on 7 July 2013 Retrieved 20 July 2013 a b Davenport Hines Richard 2004 Clore Sir Charles 1904 1979 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 30943 Subscription or UK public library membership required subscription required a b Land Securities Retail Birmingham Bull Ring PropertyMall com 18 February 2000 Archived from the original on 4 March 2012 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Selfridges UK expansion capped BBC News 28 October 2003 Retrieved 12 February 2012 White Georgia 24 December 2021 Selfridges confirms sale to Central Group and Signa Holding Retail Gazette Retrieved 29 December 2021 Selfridges sold for 4bn to Thai Austrian alliance BBC News 24 December 2021 Retrieved 24 December 2021 Central Group acquires Selfridges TTR Weekly Retrieved 9 December 2022 a b c d e Rappaport Erika 2000 Shopping for Pleasure Women in the Making of London s West End Princeton New Jersey Princeton University Press pp 142 177 ISBN 978 0691044767 Selfridge Making Shopping Fun Picture Britain Picture Britain 6 April 2011 Retrieved 30 June 2017 The customer is always right The Phrase Finder Retrieved 21 February 2012 Hamilton Stamp Club Mr Selfridge Staveley Wadham Rose Selfridges Steps Out The Opening of a Department Store As Told By Our Newspapers blog britishnewspaperarchive co uk Retrieved 24 February 2022 Selfridges 7 things you probably didn t know about the department store History Extra Retrieved 4 July 2017 Weadon P January 2009 Sigsaly Story National Security Agency Central Security Service Bids and deals The Guardian pg 13 18 September 1962 Retrieved 5 May 2021 Selfridges UK expansion capped BBC News 28 October 2003 Retrieved 12 February 2012 Pierre Koffmann Restaurant on the Roof Selfridges 400 Oxford Street The Independent 22 November 2009 Retrieved 26 February 2023 Preview Truvia Boating Lake Selfridges Rooftop Londonist 22 July 2011 Retrieved 26 February 2023 1920 2012 A Look Back at Selfridges Legendary Roof Top Selfridges Archived from the original on 1 October 2013 Retrieved 21 July 2013 Selfridges Partners With Clothing Rental Company BoF 17 August 2020 Retrieved 18 August 2020 Selfridges up for auction with 4bn price tag Proactiveinvestors UK 26 July 2021 Retrieved 26 July 2021 Editor Ashley Armstrong Retail Selfridges sale to Thailand s Central Group agreed The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 3 December 2021 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last has generic name help Owners on cusp of selling Selfridges to Thai group for 4bn the Guardian 2 December 2021 Retrieved 3 December 2021 Selfridges owners agree 4bn sale to Thailand s Central Group Retail Gazette www retailgazette co uk Retrieved 3 December 2021 Selfridges sold to Thai and Austrian alliance in 5 billion deal Singh Anita 24 September 2012 From Selfridges to John Lewis we ve a treat in store The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 24 September 2013 Another London must see Selfridges the iconic luxury department store The Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 24 February 2022 Hines Thomas S 31 October 1974 Burnham of Chicago Chicago IL University of Chicago ISBN 978 0195018363 Historic England 28 September 2001 Selfridges Store 1357436 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 21 February 2012 H G SELFRIDGE WINS FIGHT WITH LONDON CITY COUNCIL Last Obstacle Overcome by Chicagoan and Work on Oxford Street Is Being Pushed Rapidly Chicago Daily Tribune 9 February 1909 p A2 Morrison Kathryn A 2003 English Shops amp Shopping An Architectural History Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 10219 4 Selfridges Dictionary of Scottish Architects Retrieved 16 November 2008 Collins Nick 14 June 2010 Selfridges named world s best department store The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Glancey Jonathan 1 September 2003 Top of the blobs The Guardian London guardian co uk Retrieved 21 February 2012 Birmingham Selfridges named must see sight The Daily Telegraph London 26 September 2011 Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Selfridges TRC Windows Retrieved 30 September 2021 Sinclair Mark 2 February 2012 Wordplay in Selfridges windows Creative Review Archived from the original on 12 October 2012 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Of Spaciousness and Accommodation The Times London 18 March 1909 p 4 Selfridges The Recollection of Quality Remains Long After Price is Forgotten The Times London 19 June 1909 p 4 Loeb Walter Selfridges A Shopper s Paradise With A Colorful Founder Forbes Retrieved 5 June 2017 a b c Outka Elizabeth 2005 Crossing the Great Divides Selfridges Modernity and the Commodified Authentic Modernism Modernity 12 2 311 328 doi 10 1353 mod 2005 0063 S2CID 18596478 Retrieved 8 November 2015 Sir Roger Moore appears in campaign to stop shoppers buying foie gras The Daily Telegraph London 6 November 2009 Archived from the original on 9 November 2009 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Foie gras protesters go topless BBC News bbc co uk 12 February 2009 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Martin Hickman 2 April 2008 Vegetarian aristocrats and their campaign against the cruelty of Selfridges foie gras The Independent London independent co uk Retrieved 21 February 2012 Selfridges Drops Foie Gras From Shelves Geese Dance Everywhere Vegetarian Star 16 November 2009 Retrieved 21 February 2012 Store apologises over sick McQueen window display Express co uk 14 July 2010 Retrieved 5 June 2017 Booth Robert 17 September 2013 Selfridges assistant suspended for refusing to serve EDL leader s friend The Guardian theGuardian com Retrieved 24 September 2013 No action after EDL leader s friend refused Selfridges service BBC News bbc co uk news 18 September 2013 Retrieved 24 September 2013 Selfridges installs inhumane anti homeless spikes outside Manchester store The Independent London 16 February 2015 Hale Mike 28 March 2013 Fogging Up the Windows of a Big Store The New York Times Retrieved 1 April 2013 a b Mr Selfridge IMDb IMDb Retrieved 8 November 2015 Teen Vanity 22 September 2021 Jaden Smith Brings His Ethical World To Selfridges Vanity Teen 虚荣青年 Lifestyle amp New Faces Magazine www vanityteen com Retrieved 24 February 2022 Further reading EditHoneycombe Gordon Selfridges Seventy Five Years The Story of the Store 1909 84 London 1984 ISBN 0902935275 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Selfridges Selfridges website Selfridges Group website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Selfridges amp oldid 1148897088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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