has anyone got any history in to the background to the company

They are/were owned by the Owen Owen group. Google the two names, check Wikipedia too. :)

thats some info:
hopefull more soon

Company Name: Owen Owen Ltd.
Firm Type: International and Multinational Private company
Location: United Kingdom
Phone: 44 151 707 4000
Fax: 44 151 707 1200
Employees (Verification Letter): 235
Revenue (Verification Letter): $38.70 M SALES
Fiscal Year End: 31-DEC-03
Primary SIC: Department Stores
Primary NAICS: Department Stores (except Discount Department Stores)
Description: Retail: Department store group
Last Updated: 03-MAY-05

here is more important information

Renaissance in store for Lewis's Jan 26 2005

By Bill Gleeson, Daily Post

OWEN OWEN was one of Liverpool's best-known retailers. Its name sat proudly atop its department store building in Clayton Square and could be seen from many vantage points around the city.

Then, a decade ago, the store, along with a dozen others, fell into the hands of retail entrepreneur Philip Green. He closed the Clayton Square store, along with 11 other outlets around the country owned by the Owen Owen group. The last store to close was in Manchester three years ago.

That left the Owen Owen group with just one store, Lewis's in Renshaw Street in Liverpool city centre.

Mr Green, the 80% owner of Owen Owen, has not given this far-flung corner of his empire much attention. Instead, he has been focused on his other, bigger businesses, BHS and Arcadia. More recently, he was preoccupied with a failed attempt to acquire Marks & Spencer. In the meantime, Lewis's has been neglected with little sign of investment.

But now, things are looking up. Just before Christmas Mr Green sold his 80% stake to one of his closest business colleagues, David Thompson. Another Owen Owen director, Elaine MacPherson, also sold her 10% stake.

Those deals gave Mr Thompson, who already owned 10% of the business, 100% control. The purchase was financed with the proceeds of the sale of his stake last November in MK 1, a discount womenswear chain that he had a 27% stake in, again with Mr Green as the senior partner.

Then, just last week, the new management started the process of acquiring more stores. He paid £5m for two stores in the North East, Joplings at Sunderland and Robbs at Hexham. Given that the two stores have a combined profit of £2m, he appears to have got a very good deal.

Last week's deal means that a three-strong chain of stores has been created with a combined turnover in the region of £50m.

Mr Thompson said: "We wanted to keep Owen Owen going at a minimal level while we invested in our other companies.

"There have been strong sales here, though it was difficult last year."

He said the Liverpool store has sales totalling £22m, but it has weak profits. "Last year it was marginally profitable," said Mr Thompson.

"The focus now is to combine the other two stores into the organisation. And when we have done that we will take a view about where we will take the three stores."

The new owner is keen to maintain his control of the business. He will only fund future expansion with bank finance. "I don't want to get involved with private equity," he said..

"I have succeeded without them for a number of years. There will be further acquisitions of stores.

We are looking at one right at the moment. Then there will be a breather while we get the operation set up."

One thing that is not on the agenda is the reintroduction of the Owen Owen name on the high street.

"Joplings, Robbs and Lewis's are all well-established names. They have been trading for a number of years and the loyalty of their customers is something that we don't want to lose.

Mr Thompson first worked with Mr Green in 1992 at Amber Day, a retail group that owned the What Everyone Wants chain.

Mr Thompson said: "You would be hard pushed to find anybody who could do things better than Philip, particularly on spotting the deal. He spots the potential of something like BHS. That was lumbering along, but within a year he had pushed the profits up £100m."

The new man at Owen Owen has no intention of modelling himself on Mr Green, but he did say: "I would say I have learned a lot from him, things like evaluating the potential of a business.

"If you focus on cashflow, you can make room to do things that others might have thought was not possible.

"If you think about his transactions to date, if you pay back your debts quickly then the cost of buying the business is zero. That gives you scope to push forward at a faster rate. It comes from things like making improvements to margins and stockholding efficiencies."

The ambition is to increase margins to around 5%.

"It costs as much to run one store as it does to run three. It would not be viable to run this one store without the addition of more.

"You have the IT systems and buyers in place for one store, so you may as well use the same resource for three.

"There will more cost from additional distribution from running three stores, but that is offset from margin savings from buying product in larger volumes.

"What I would like to do is put together a small group of department stores with strong names in their localities and strengthen the efficiencies of those stores.

"I want to improve the offer and create enough profits to put money back into the stores to create a more sympathetic environment through refurbishment.

Owen Owen's new owner moved to Liverpool from Hertfordshire two years ago. Unlike Liverpool, the county is prosperous, without a brick out of place.

"I suspect that in a few years' time, you will be able to say the same for Liverpool. It will be a completely different animal.

"If you look at the difference between what we have here and Manchester, then there is plainly a long way to go."

Pointing out of the window at a pavement widening scheme directly in front of his store, Mr Thompson said: "Grosvenor is part of it, but they are already developing around here as well. They will be planting trees down there shortly."

Mr Thompson acknowledges that Grosvenor will be a catalyst for change in Liverpool. However, he says, Lewis's knows its place and will be staying put on Renshaw Street.

"I don't believe a small department store business like ours would survive in a prime location.

"We have to be slightly off-pitch with cheaper rentals.

"People have always said this store is not in the right location, but it will be in the right location in five years' time.. Things are improving around here all the time.

"The retail market is always evolving. You look at the out-of-town sites and how the intown locations suffered. And then you had intown fighting back.

"That's what has happened here. The property investors want value for money and so they have improved pedestrianisation and car parking. I dare say that in a couple of years' time,, the out-of-town people will fight back again."

Mr Thompson disputes the suggestion that Liverpudlians are poor at giving good service.

"People from Liverpool have bags of character, and if you have that then half the battle is won."

Owen Owen buys NE stores in £5m U-turn Jan 20 2005




By Bill Gleeson, Daily Post


LIVERPOOL retailer Owen Owen has acquired two North East department stores as part of a new expansion programme.

The deal sees Owen Owen buy Merchant Retail's Joplings store in Sunderland and its Robbs-branded store in Hexham in Northumbria, for a total of £5m.

Joplings, which was founded in 1804, is one of the North East's best known names on the high street.

The acquisitions reverse a previous strategy that saw Owen Owen sell-off all of its stores except for one - the Lewis's store in Liverpool city centre.

The disposals, which took place over a 10-year period, included the Owen Owen store in Liverpool's Clayton Square. In all, 12 stores were sold, the last in Manchester three years ago.

Now the group's new owner plans to add further outlets to its portfolio. The expansion plans follow the completion of a deal last month which saw Owen Owen change hands.

Retail entrepreneur David Thompson has taken 100% control of the Liverpool business following the sale of an 80% stake by Philip Green, who last year mounted a failed attempt to buy Marks & Spencer.

Mr Thompson, who is managing director of Owen Owen, said: "It's an exciting time. Following a period of contraction, we are now in expansive mode.

"It's good for staff morale and hopefully customers will see the benefits too."

He said that the Owen Owen operation had been scaled back because Mr Green had not been focused on it: "He had other things like Bhs on his plate," he said.

But all that has changed now. "Potentially there will be more acquisitions. We can always get the funding for the right proposition.

"The limiting factor will be our capacity to manage the expansion. Stores are not like little shops. They are quite an animal to operate," said Mr Thompson.

Mr Thompson acquired Owen Owen and its Lewis's store after selling his shares in MK 1, the womenswear group, at the end of last year.

The deal is likely to result in the transfer of some posts to Liverpool from Joplings' Sunderland head office, where it employs 175 staff.

The three stores now in the group will continue to trade under their individual names.

Mr Thompson said Owen Owen needed to expand in order to make it viable. He said: "One stand-alone department store is not a viable proposition.

"The head office overheads for running one store are the same as they are for six. So we need some scale.

"The Joplings and Robbs stores became available. They are strong names in their localities. There are a lot of similarities with Lewis's."

Thank heavans for that. Lewis's has been on the slide for years. The Green thing explains the situation perfectly; he is an asset stripper.

hopefully with beatties department stores being bought by house of Fraser there may
be stores up up for sale and Lewis's may take over one of the stores with the lewis's
brand name being used. I don't think that beatties will keep its own identity and a
don't think that Owen Owen group will buy the Beatties name

I think it is quite sad That a company which had a enviable position around 15 years
ago (there was 13 shops in the Group, when Department stores where going through a hard time,-hence why blacklers closed-13 shops is like every major city and growing say by 1 shop every 3 years (with philip greens money this could be well more) there would have been now 18 stores)
is now in a state of collapse
hopefully this will provide a good future for the stores
and it looks good that the liverpool store will get an overhall

thanks
Liverodysea
WOW this is my longest post yet !!!!!!!!
Liverpool version

Although he has been killing off owen owens i don't think i would have survived anyway he has just proserved it without moving the group forward.

thanks
Liverodysea (at home)

Liverpool Version

Thats all I know

I iam just supplying people with information
thanks
Liverodysea (in who gives a fuck)

LiverOdysea - some irrelevant information to Liverpool...

Please stop posting shite in the Manchester forums.


The history of John Lewis Cheadle

From unknown to first point of call
Manchester is the centre of the UK`s largest economic region outside London, and is acknowledged as one of the world`s major cities. Naturally, John Lewis had wanted to trade there for a long time; unfortunately, finding a suitable site had proved rather more difficult.

So when Sainsburys started looking for a partner to share a new site it had acquired at Cheadle, just six miles south of the city, the John Lewis Partnership was naturally interested.


During 1991 a joint design team was set up and a combined plan agreed. Planning permission took two years, but eventually on 5th October 1993 the contractors moved onto the site. The design was, and is, a pleasing one. The two shops are joined by a glass link building which provides the main entrances to both Sainsburys and John Lewis and to the department stores coffee shop.
From the beginning the Partnership was clear that it wanted to model the interior of the new department store on the square selling floors of John Lewis High Wycombe (the first shop in the group to be designed around the selling space). This was achieved, the only difference being that Cheadle has three selling floors, compared to High Wycombes two, and carries John Lewis` full merchandise range.


As the various parts of the shop were finished during the summer of 1995, they were handed over to the Partnership for fitting out and by Wednesday 25 October, John Lewis Cheadle was ready to welcome its first customers

The new shop scored several firsts. It was the first Partnership department store to use new IBM 4963 cash registers. It was the first to deploy a new lighting system which allowed the merchandise to be lit more precisely and it was the first shop in the department store division to have its opening supported by advertising.
Historically the department stores had not used advertising, preferring to rely on the John Lewis reputation for choice and value and the quality of its service. However in Manchester, where the Partnership had never had a presence, it was a relatively unknown quantity.


There was also the potential for confusion with Lewis`s and John Lewis of Hungerford, both of which had branches nearby.

While choice and value are important elements of the John Lewis story, they are also claims that can be made by others, so the Partnership decided to major on the message that really does make it unique - the fact that the business is owned, albeit in trust, by its employees.
This means that when it comes to quality and service the fact that employees are Partners really does make a difference.




For more information on the history of the John Lewis Partnership visit The Memory Store.

Some details of the House of Fraser in Maidstone...


Store ManagerDebbie Hammond
Telephone0870 1607253
Facsimile01622 683864
Emailmaidstone@hof.co.uk
Address44 Fremlin Walk Maidstone Kent ME14 1QPRecruitmentFor information regarding working with us at House of Fraser click here to visit our Corporate site.


Sunday 3rd10:30 AM04:30 PM
Monday 4th09:00 AM05:30 PM
Tuesday 5th09:30 AM05:30 PM
Wednesday 6th09:00 AM05:30 PM
Thursday 7th09:00 AM08:00 PM
Friday 8th09:00 AM05:30 PM
Saturday 9th09:00 AM06:00 PM

i appologise to everyone for my 'shite' posts
thanks
Liverodysea

What the fuck is going on? :?

see the manchester lewis's department store thread
it will make it all make sense UNLIKE ME!
Thanks
Liverodysea

see the manchester lewis's department store thread
it will make it all make sense UNLIKE ME!
Thanks
LiverodyseaThey didnt seem that interested in your thread, or they took offence to you being from Liverpool, and though you were winding them up. :)

I visit a load of threads that don't have anything interesting in them for me, and i simply ignore it and visit the next thread hoping for something interesting.

Its just Manchester they can come over here and walk all over us
yet we cannot come over to them,
Birmingham was fine with it.

thanks
Liverodysea

see the manchester lewis's department store thread
it will make it all make sense UNLIKE ME!
Thanks
Liverodysea

I've read this thread, the Birmingham one and the Manchester one. Interesting differences - the Brummies were polite but not very interested, and it died out quickly and quietly. The Mancs were very rapidly riled and became abusive, posted lots of spam by way of complaint and then had it locked (no wonder that forum has so many posts on it, given their ability to post so often to say virtually nothing - if the Brummies spammed as much as the Mancs did on the Lewis's thread, they'd be the biggest Forum).

Lewis's was THE big department store when I was young, and I remember its entrance from Central Station. Its famously idle staff were responsible for the expression "standing around like one of Lewis's", ie standing around in a useless manner. I visited it last year, and found it like a time-warp, completely shambolic and obviously begging for bankruptcy or take-over. I have posted before that I believe that site is pretty much doomed for large-scale retail use once Paradise Street opens. I wonder if, however, a creative developer could find a way to make it work as a Hong-Kong style multi-level retailer with lots of little shops and stands? You could get a dozen independent record shops on one floor, a dozen independent food shops on another, like a market but a bit better.

The pity is that smaller regionally-owned chains can't survive, and it would be great if it could. Just as all our smaller town high streets look the same, increasingly there is no difference in the retail offer in city centres either - the same in Bristol or Newcastle or Glasgow.

Shopping is very boring these days, as there is no choice wheverever you go.

Hopefully Lewis's will survive, or, if it can't, productive retail uses can be found for its lower floors and some good uses for its upper floors as well.

Fuck off politan, I think you'll find it was Kurt/nobby/trammy who was the instigator of the bullshit. It was closed for good reasons i.e., the poor lad would've got even more shite off some of our less intellectual members (excluding me as I, despite being a thick shit, didn't see the bother). So you can stick your tar covered brush up your fat arse.

LiverOdysea, it might've been easier to put a single thread in the City talk section! :)

...I think you'll find it was Kurt/nobby/trammy who was the instigator of the bullshit. It was closed for good reasons i.e., the poor lad would've got even more shite off some of our less intellectual members (excluding me as I, despite being a thick shit, didn't see the bother).

I don't understand your point here. I have simply pointed out that - unusually - a quite similar post was made in three Fora - and it was received with politeness but disinterest in Birmingham, but excited a load of abuse and spam in the Manchester Forum. You were not involved, trammy for one was, but so what? It's not about naming names, it's the general character of the Fora that I was observing from this example.

His posts concerning Lewis's in Manchester were harmless and not irrelevant, as the diversity of retail offer is very important to our cities. Pity none of the more mature and intelligent members (such as yourself) didn't point that out - instead you come here, doing your delightful drunken and bored Sunday evening routine.

it was only trammy who reacted angrilly really well he can stop posting crap on the liverpool forum.

Hi
liverpolitan I agree with you, yet it was only one person.

Hopefully The liverpool store will be done up as you said [liverpolitan] it is crying out for a takeover or bankruptcy
hopefull that takeover has happened

THE END

Thank you Liverpool, Manchester & Birmingham
Liverodysea

His posts concerning Lewis's in Manchester were harmless and not irrelevant, as the diversity of retail offer is very important to our cities. Pity none of the more mature and intelligent members (such as yourself) didn't point that out - instead you come here, doing your delightful drunken and bored Sunday evening routine.

You must'nt have read the whole thread then. He was copying and pasting every post into every thread, when the discussion had moved to different areas in each thread! He was posting about Owens and Beatties in the Manc thread, please tell me how that is relevant.

I've read this thread, the Birmingham one and the Manchester one. Interesting differences - the Brummies were polite but not very interested, and it died out quickly and quietly. The Mancs were very rapidly riled and became abusive, posted lots of spam by way of complaint and then had it locked (no wonder that forum has so many posts on it, given their ability to post so often to say virtually nothing - if the Brummies spammed as much as the Mancs did on the Lewis's thread, they'd be the biggest Forum).

There were reasons for it though. Would you like it if I started a thread about, say, photos of Liverpools top 15 tallest buildings, then a few minutes later started posting photos of Derby? Because they were posting about Derby in identical threads in other forums? No, course you wouldn't, that would be irrelevant.
And please don't start about 'spam', when the very forum I post in now is clearly the one with the highest proportion of spam in it.

And please, nobody could seriously suggest his thread was closed because he's a scouser, that is ludicrous! :rant:

:weirdo:

:cry:

Why bring this back up days later? :?

Just let it be for goodness sakes.

It's all water under the bridge, CAW, or, judging by your most recent post, a bridge over a river of tears.

Latest high quality brand added - "Carpet Right"

Its hardly Harrods, is it?

Quite so, PJ, it's become ever so tatty. If Quiggins is closed (have they done that yet?) maybe it could relocate to Lewis's, if Lewis's goes bust. It's a serious idea, although I don't know Quiggins so it might be a daft one as well.

I'm not sure about Quiggens poli. I think its still there for the moment.
Can't have long to go now though.

Quiggens is still open from MOSHER SOURCES INSIDE MAGHULL HIGH SCHOOL

-:- Odysea TV LIVE -:-

Quiggens is still open from MOSHER SOURCES INSIDE MAGHULL HIGH SCHOOL

-:- Odysea TV LIVE -:-

It is staying open for a good while yet, PSDA is a large project split into 3 phases i think, Quiggins may be in this 3rd phase.

Not about Lewis's but I think this is probably the best place for it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4670873.stm

Well thats the end of the Littlewoods on Church St.

Oh sorry, just noticed Oddysea has beat me to it.

Oh sorry, just noticed Oddysea has beat me to it.
i win
We should all want lewis's to succed otherwise we will have an other other other other other other other other other other other other cloned high street.
next time your in town looking for anything cheack lewis's to see if thay have it.

What makes Liverpool Different to everother Cloned high street?
LEWIS'S and QUIGENNS

Another Question can Liverpool Support another Department Store?

My little List of Department stores in Liverpool

Hederson, Burnt down replaced by Binns is now River Island and H&M

Blacklers Closed in late 1980's now offices and Pubs

Lewis's still open, yet some floors closed

Owen Owen the store closed still owners of Lewis's former owners of TJ Hughes, store is now TK Maxx and Tesco metro

John Lewis is still open, Formally George Henry Lee will be Moving to PSDA

Bon Marche the store (not group) was taken over by George Henry Lee

Debenhams Opening in PSDA

?????? Opening in PSDA

Browns of clayton part of Browns of chester that is all i know of this store


Bunnys Ltd i have no information of this store apart from it is now Barrat shoes

Thanks to my main source my nan
LiverOdysea2
MY LONGEST POST

by the way its Odysea and said OH-DEE-SEA

quiggins lost all its appeal as an altenitive store the moment it stated selling lacoste boiler suit crap

Lewis's and Quiggins are Culture The fact that we have the largest Next store in the World isn't nor is the paradise Project.
I like the paradise project don't get me wrong but..
Can something so big do only good?
Can Liverpool Support it?
Do we need another cloned city centre?

Liverpool is not Europes Largest city, so why have Europes Largest shopping centre here?

Thanks
Liverodysea2
_________________

Have i got you thinking?

Lewis's and Quiggins are Culture The fact that we have the largest Next store in the World isn't nor is the paradise Project.
I like the paradise project don't get me wrong but..
Can something so big do only good?
Can Liverpool Support it?
Do we need another cloned city centre?

Liverpool is not Europes Largest city, so why have Europes Largest shopping centre here?

Thanks
Liverodysea2
_________________

Have i got you thinking?

I don't think it is Europes largest shopping centre, it is the largest redevelopment in Europe. (I think it may not even be the largest anymore). Liverpool will be able to sustain it due to the increasing number of people living in the city centre, and Liverpool is attracting new people from all over the U.K. and the world now. Go into town now and there are a lot of none scouse accents. I overheared a woman (from down south) excededly speaking to someone on a mobile saying, "i'm on the waterfront, infront of the 'Liver Birds' :) , it's absolutely amazing" then she hurried along the waterfront towards the Albert Dock, no doubt to be futher 'gobsmakked' by what she found. She will no doubt tell all her friends about her visit, and how she felt safe, and all the scousers were friendly, and they will also visit.

Does that support my theroy that Lewis's and Quiggins are good for liverpool?

Thanks
LiverOdysea

:banana: I don't think it is Europes largest shopping centre, it is the largest redevelopment in Europe. (I think it may not even be the largest anymore). Liverpool will be able to sustain it due to the increasing number of people living in the city centre, and Liverpool is attracting new people from all over the U.K. and the world now. Go into town now and there are a lot of none scouse accents. I overheared a woman (from down south) excededly speaking to someone on a mobile saying, "i'm on the waterfront, infront of the 'Liver Birds' :) , it's absolutely amazing" then she hurried along the waterfront towards the Albert Dock, no doubt to be futher 'gobsmakked' by what she found. She will no doubt tell all her friends about her visit, and how she felt safe, and all the scousers were friendly, and they will also visit.

Does that support my theroy that Lewis's and Quiggins are good for liverpool?

Thanks
LiverOdysea

Unique stores are good for Liverpool. If you want unique stores, look down Bold Street. It's a lot more alternative than it was a few years back. I don't think the Paradise Street Project will make Liverpool like any other city though. In fact, I think it should refresh much of the landscape and take Liverpool away from the 1970's precinct look that everywhere from Hull to Peterborough has.