NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Bhs

Bhs (also trading as British Home Stores and formerly BHS and BhS) is a stalwart department store of the British High Street, selling clothing and household items (such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting). Bhs competes on high-quality and value-for-money, aiming at a slightly less affluent demographic than Marks and Spencer or John Lewis. Currently the company has 182 stores throughout the United Kingdom. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... For other uses of the abbreviation, see BHS Bhs (also trading as British Home Stores and formerly BHS and BhS) is a stalwart department store of the British High Street, selling clothing and household items (such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Main Street. ... Bedding is a generic term that refers to all types of material which make up a bed (generally excluding the mattress, box spring and bed frame, which are less portable). ... Used cutlery: a plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking glass. ... Some dishware Dishware is a general term for objectsâ€”dishesâ€”from which people eat or serve food, such as plates and bowls. ... Not to be confused with lightning. ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ... One of John Lewis flagship branches in Glasgows Buchanan Galleries mall The John Lewis Partnership is a major United Kingdom retailer, operating department stores and, through its Waitrose subsidiary, upmarket supermarkets. ...

Image File history File links Bhsbig. ... A limited company by shares (limited or Ltd. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Brixton is an area of South London, England, part of the London Borough of Lambeth. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Drawing of a self-service store. ... Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather, other features of our environment, and for safety reasons. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Red_Arrow_Down. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Image File history File links obtained from http://www. ... Image File history File links obtained from http://www. ...

History

The 1920s & 30s

The first British Home Stores shop opened in Brixton in 1928 and copied the business model of the US-based FW Woolworth in that the price of goods was limited to a maximum of one shilling. In 1929 the maximum price was increased to five shillings which enabled the company to expand the range to include furnishings and drapery. The company became a public company (Plc) in 1931. Brixton is an area of South London, England, part of the London Borough of Lambeth. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The 1960s

After the Second World War the company stopped selling based on price and started to offer goods with quality and value for money. In 1960 the company started an own brand called Prova and by the end of the 1960s had 94 stores. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

The 1970s

The company expanded in the 1970s including a joint venture with retailer J Sainsbury Limited to create hypermarkets using the SavaCentre brand. By the end of the 1970s British Home Stores was established as a department store. J Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsburys, which is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. ...

The 1980s

A downturn in business in the early 1980s was fought with a revamp of the stores and the selling of goods with higher profit margins. In 1985 the first overseas franchise store opened in Gibraltar. Such stores, not directly owned by the Bhs company itself, now operate over Europe and the Middle East. In 1986, Bhs merged with Habitat and Mothercare to form Storehouse plc and soon afterwards, the British Home Stores registered company name and branding across its shops was replaced with BhS (now Bhs) and a new corporate logo. The exception was in stores that displayed an 'historic' fascia, such as Edinburgh's Princes Street, which continues to feature the British Home Stores name in an old fashioned Roman type etched into the stone shop front. Franchising (from the French for honesty or freedom[1]) is a method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and tried and proven methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring payment, and usually a percentage piece of gross sales or gross profits as well... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Habitat is a retailer of household furnishings which operates its own stores in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchise outlets elsewhere. ... Mothercare is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. ... Storehouse Plc was the name of the group formed when UK retail companies Bhs, Habitat and Mothercare merged in mid-1986. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The 1990s: Takeover by Philip Green

During the late 1990s the stores which formed Storehouse Plc fell on hard times, Bhs and Mothercare being the worst affected. Following a number of years tough trading Sir 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 then went on to acquire the Arcadia Group of high street retailers; which includes Topshop, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis among others, to form Britain's second largest clothes retailer, after Marks and Spencer. Storehouse Plc who had also demerged Habitat back in 1992 now trades as Mothercare Plc and only operates Mothercare. Alan Smith, chairman of Storehouse at the time of the Bhs sale commented "He [Philip Green] had a crystal-clear vision and strategy. He had the guts to do the deal, to make it work when nobody else thought he could." Sir Philip Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British billionaire businessman who owns some of the United Kingdoms largest retailers, including Bhs and the Arcadia Group. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ... Topshop is a chain of clothing stores situated throughout the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and over 30 other countries. ... A branch of Burton on Buchanan Street in Glasgow Burton is a large United Kingdom high street clothing retailer. ... Evans is a womens clothing retailer located in the United Kingdom. ... A branch of Dorothy Perkins on Buchanan Street in Glasgow Dorothy Perkins is a large British womens clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom. ... Wallis is one of the many companies under ownership of Philip Green, a British retailing icon. ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ... Mothercare is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. ...

The 2000s: Etam, Amelie May, Tammy & Return to British Home Stores

In May 2005 Philip Green, owner of Bhs purchased Etam UK from their French owner, Etam Development. The Etam UK brands included "Etam", "Emily May" and "Tammy"; of the three brands names included in the purchase of Etam UK; the girls fashion retailer "Tammy" ('Tammyfashion.co.uk') having already established itself as a well respected girlswear brand "For Girls with Attitude" was the strongest brand in terms of sales and consumer recognition. For this reason and to help improve young peoples' perception of Bhs as a whole, stand-alone Tammy stores were closed nationwide and the brand was integrated into all Bhs stores across the UK from early September 2005. There are also some new lines in UK Bhs stores which carry a slight re-work of the "Emily May" brand, "Amelie May". Image File history File links Tammy. ... Image File history File links Tammy. ... Etam UK was a British womens clothing retailer formed by the French Etam Developpement. ... Bhs (once known as British Home Stores and then BHS) is a stalwart general retailer of the British High Street, selling clothes and household items (such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting). ... Bhs (once known as British Home Stores and then BHS) is a stalwart general retailer of the British High Street, selling clothes and household items (such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting). ... Bhs (once known as British Home Stores and then BHS) is a stalwart general retailer of the British High Street, selling clothes and household items (such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting). ...

In 2005, Bhs resurrected its 'British Home Stores' fascia more than 20 years after it had disappeared from the UK high street. The move followed the purchase of several former Allders at Home sites from the defunct department store chain. British Home Stores branding is used at outlets that feature homeware alongside the traditional clothing range. Contrary to what is sometimes believed, they are not dedicated entirely to domestic items. Due to the success of the branding of these stores, there are more planned for the future. Effective from 14 January 2007 all of the 'British Home Stores' have all been structured together as one "region" within the company. As a whole the company has approx 12 regions. Allders in Croydon, the third largest department store in Britain Allders was a chain of department stores in the United Kingdom with its head office in Croydon. ... The interior of a typical Macys department store. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Home shopping

The company launched its home shopping Web site on Wednesday 28th March 2007, with the ultimate aim of making all of its products available online. Homewares and Wedding lines available online from its launch. Schoolwear lines have been integrated into the new site as of June 2007 and Tammy will be available to buy online from Autumn 2007.

Changes to store format

Some stores in the core format of Bhs are currently evaluating a new department layout; with some departments, including menswear, growing and some decreasing in size. With this ongoing change. Larger homewares departments will also stock new bedding, lighting and bathroom ranges developed for the British Home Stores fascia.

A number of sections within some of the main departments are being re-branded and are receiving new clothing lines to suit their (colour-based) themes. Tea Dance, 40s Romance, 40s Nostalgia, Classics, Core, Denim Shop, English Heritage, Heritage, Simply Chic, Winter Berries, Baroque and Petites (note the addition of the "s") among others (depending on season) for example, made-up the 2006 women's fashions department. Recently, the older boys (8-16) department has been revamped with new, more fashionable clothing ranges added across most stores within the company. This new department range is called "Flipback". Flipback's aim is to appeal youngsters into the rebel, punk, skater boy type-image.

Specialised departments

Bhs has a number of dedicated niche departments that include the school and wedding departments. In the wedding department a number of changes have recently taken place. A larger wedding range is now available in selected stores and parts of the range ("essentials") are available in other stores. The schoolwear shop ("Bhs School") department received a major design and range review mid-2006 and with its new "short, tall, big or small. .. we've got it all!" slogan and promises to "Fit the Nation". Additionally, each store is now customising their uniform offerings to cater for the most popular colour combinations used by schools in the locality. Students in Rome, Italy. ... Nuptial is the adjective of wedding. It is used for example in zoology to denote plumage, coloration, behavior, etc related to or occurring in the mating season. ...

Brand imaging, refurbishments and revamps

At present there are a number of corporate designs being used by Bhs, this is caused by the company's policy of refurbishing and applying new branding to the better (financially) performing stores first and slowly working down the store "league table" thereafter. Generally speaking those stores with the most up to date facia (black and white) are among the best performing within the business. Those with the facia prior to this are stores which are or have been performing fairly well. Stores which are still using facias dating back to the 80s and early 90s are generally the worst performing stores within the business. Image File history File links Bhsey. ... Image File history File links Bhsey. ...

Bhs are currently in the process of rolling out a revamped brand image for its stores. Gone will be the 1980s facias and the Bhs greys, greens and curved store signage from the 90s - in come the black and the white. Examples of this can already be seen by both the internal and external presentation of their newer stores, like those purchased from collapsed firm Allders in 2005 and better performing stores such as Kingston. This move appears to be quite a trend for high street retailers, with rivals Debenhams and Next already having a similar simple black and white corporate design. Allders in Croydon, the third largest department store in Britain Allders was a chain of department stores in the United Kingdom with its head office in Croydon. ... Debenhams plc (LSE: DEB) is a retailer with a chain of department stores based in the United Kingdom. ... For other meanings, see Next. ... For other uses, see Corporation (disambiguation). ...

Many departments within the stores themselves have recently received complete revamps themselves, creating a number of "themes" within each department. The most notable change to some of the larger stores that carry homeware products is the reintroduction of 'British Home Stores' branding on store façades alongside 'Bhs'. The British Home Stores wording is shown in the Futura typeface which both contrasts with the curvy script of the Bhs acronym logo and harks back to the font's predominant use in hsitorical signage. Again, all new store branding is presented in the new white-on-black livery style. Futura is both the name of an airline, a typeface and an SF magazine. ...

Christmas shop

Bhs is renowned among many of its customers for offering a fair value Christmas shopping experience - and the queues around the Christmas period speak for themselves. During the 1st week of October each year the full Christmas shop is rolled out in Bhs stores nationwide (giving that the Christmas cards normally come out earlier); in most cases this replaces a section of women's fashions until just after Christmas. During this period Christmas shop offer a wide range of novelty, gift, decoration and food items to consumers in addition to the usual Bhs clothing and homewares lines. Additional temporary staff are taken on from late September right up until December, the some often being retained on a permanent basis after this should the store have any vacancies to fill. Each year a new Christmas cuddly toy is launched, normally taking the form of a bear. Christmas 2005 brought about Parker the Bear and Christmas 2006 had Bertie Bear and Toby Terrier.

Kelly Hoppen

Kelly Hoppen is an internationally renowned interior designer who has advised the Beckhams among others on their interior furnishings and decor. The KHome range offers two styles, "Classic" and "Glamour". Products include cushions, towels, vases, accessories, lighting, sofas, dining tables and chairs, side tables and headboards. The Kelly Hoppen range is normally higher priced than the standard Bhs Home Range.

Bhs Goldcard

‎ Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...

The Goldcard is the Bhs combined payment and discount card, administered by GE Capital Bank. The card also functions as a loyalty discount card. The Bhs Goldcard is accepted in all Bhs (including Tammy) and Arcadia Group stores. The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ...

Bhs Everyone Card

This is the new version of the Bhs goldcard. Since September 2006 customers who apply for a Bhs card will be given the choice of either a Bhs Everyone card or a Bhs Everyone Mastercard. The Everyone store card can be used in Bhs and Arcadia Group stores. The Bhs Mastercard can be also be used in any other shops.
MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card. ... The Arcadia Group is a British company that owns the high street retailers includes Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Outfit. ... MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card. ...

Management structure, offices and distribution

Bhs in the UK is split up into a number of regions, each region is headded by one RDE (Regional Development Executive), each store then has a store manager and assistant manager along with departmental, admin, loss prevention, weekend and visual managers. Bhs has a number of administration offices across the UK, alongside the company's main head office in Marylebone, London; offices are also located at Euston, London and Luton, Bedfordshire. The company's distribution centre is located at Atherstone, Warwickshire and is managed by Excel Logistics, web-based orders are also dispatched from this location by DHL. Marylebone (sometimes written St. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Facade of Euston Station, London Euston Arch: the original Euston Station, as enlarged, ca 1851 Euston station concourse Euston station (also known as London Euston), is a large railway station in Central London. ... It has been suggested that Culture in Luton be merged into this article or section. ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Distribution is one of the 4 aspects of marketing. ... , Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced // or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ... A DHL Boeing 757 A DHL Sprinter van DHL Boat in Venice DHL Truck in Singapore DHL boat in Amsterdam, carrying DHL bicycles aboard DHL is a Deutsche Post company that provides international shipping of documents and freight as well as contract logistics. ...

Bhs International

The Bhs brand is used by a number of stores around the world on a franchise basis and although they are not directly owned by Bhs Ltd, products and support are supplied by the company. While Bhs have been offering franchises to interested parties internationally since 1985, the Tammy brand is now available as a stand-alone franchise in the international markets. In early 2006 a new franchise concept "Bhs Kids" was launched in the Middle East. Bhs Kids carries a large number of best selling children's lines from Bhs stores. Image File history File links BhsK.jpgâ€Ž http://bhscontent. ... Image File history File links BhsK.jpgâ€Ž http://bhscontent. ...

Difficult trading conditions and financial performance

Bhs revealed that their operating profits for the financial year 2005-06 have plunged 54% to just £42.2m down from £106m the previous financial year. This figure is even lower than that predicted by the firm earlier this year, who had speculated that operating profits were expected to be down by around a third. In the previous financial year which saw Bhs's operating profits at £106m was down 6% on the year before that. For the 2004-05 year Mr Green admitted that he took his eye off the ball at Bhs whilst he tried to take a tilt at Marks & Spencer and to focus on his more successful businesses such as Topshop/Topman and Burton in 2004. This was worsened by poor purchasing decisions resulting in "poor products" for the same trading year - Since then however, Mr Green has taken a more hands on role with regards to purchasing and changed some of the senior management team. Marks & Spencer plc (sometimes colloquially known also as M&S, Marks and Sparks, Marks or Markss) is a British retailer, with 760 stores in more than 30 countries around the world. ... Topshop is a chain of clothing stores situated throughout the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and over 30 other countries. ... Topshop is a clothing retailer in the United Kingdom. ... Burton can mean: // People Burton, Adam aka Maxwell Atoms, U.S. comics creator Burton, Alexander Stewart, Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross Burton, Amanda (born 1957), Irish actress Burton, Beryl (1937-1996), English racing cyclist Burton, Bob, Australian journalist Burton, Brandie (born 1972), U.S. professional golfer Burton, Brian aka... It has been suggested that Management system be merged into this article or section. ...

Over the last year, the new Bhs product ranges appear to have taken some time to filter into their stores, although these are now appearing in most stores, which in turn has left the business with a large selection of reduced, unsold stock from previous year(s) which is reflected in the sales which appear to be never-ending throughout their UK stores.

Bhs has been squeezed by the ascent of discount retailers such as Primark, as well as supermarkets Tesco and George @ Asda. The large purchase of ex-Littlewoods sites by Primark is expected to further worsen Bhs's market position with many Primark stores expected to open nearby existing Bhs stores throughout large parts of the UK (even though Bhs purchased 6 Littlewoods stores themselves!) Primark Stores Limited is a clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Spain. ... For other uses, see Tesco (disambiguation). ... ASDA is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom offering food, clothing and general merchandise products. ... Littlewoods Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited () is a United Kingdom retail company, based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. ... Primark Stores Limited is a clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Spain. ... Littlewoods Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited () is a United Kingdom retail company, based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. ...

Older shoppers want to be more fashionable, and critics say Bhs has failed to fully move with the times. Its problems are compounded by the cut-throat retail climate, which has even hit high street favourites such as Next. Bhs say they are currently revamping their product range and many sale lines are now offered in their stores. A fashion consists of a current (constantly changing) trend, favoured for frivolous rather than practical, logical, or intellectual reasons. ... For other meanings, see Next. ...

Despite these difficult times for the company, Bhs has continued to roll out more stores nationwide - including Nuneaton in Warwickshire and Llandudno, Wales. The company are also beginning to work on the refurbishment of their older stores more pro-actively as a growing number of customers see the stores as being "old fashioned". , Nuneaton is the largest town in the English county of Warwickshire, and the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth. ... A detailed map Stratford-upon-Avon Kenilworth Castle Warwickshire (pronounced // or //) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ...

Through no legal requirement; but as a relatively "open" privately owned business, Bhs tends to announce it's financial performance for the previous financial year around the beginning of October. The business's financial year is made up of thirteen periods of four weeks each running from April to the following March.

Bhs For Sale

2006 - No Interest, Tough Climate According to ('thisismoney.co.uk') Bhs owner Philip Green had been touting Bhs as being for sale late February/early March 2006, but this came to nothing. Rivals such as Asda and Debenhams were contacted regarding any interest they might have in purchasing the chain. Retail executives say that Green has mooted various combinations including joint ventures or outright sale, but in the current tough market most retail chains don't want to risk taking on more stores. Sir Philip Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British billionaire businessman who owns some of the United Kingdoms largest retailers, including Bhs and the Arcadia Group. ... ASDA is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom offering food, clothing and general merchandise products. ... Debenhams plc (LSE: DEB) is a retailer with a chain of department stores based in the United Kingdom. ...

2007 - Suitor Search Resumes On May 30th 2007 'thisismoney.co.uk' reported rumours of talks with Icelandic retail investor Baugur regarding a sale of the chain and that Green was hoping to raise around £450m from selling the chain which would then be used towards the continuation of Arcadia's TopShop international roll-out. Analysts said Green was in a dilemma over whether he should sell the chain to rivals of his other Arcadia chains.

External links

References

Categories: Cleanup from March 2007 | All pages needing cleanup | NPOV disputes | Retailers of the United Kingdom | Companies based in London is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 154th day of the year (155th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Contents

History GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");