Owen Owen

Owen Owen
Company type	Private company
Industry	Retail (department stores)
Founded	January 1, 1868; 158 years ago Liverpool, United Kingdom
Founder	Owen Owen
Defunct	February 28, 2007
Fate	Entered administration; stores sold or closed
Headquarters	Liverpool, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, Canada
Products	Department store goods
Number of employees	120+ (by 1873)

Owen Owen was a retailer specializing in department stores, operating primarily in the United Kingdom and Canada, with its origins in Liverpool. Beginning as a modest drapery business, the company grew into a significant chain largely through acquiring competing retailers. The Owen/Norman family maintained ownership until the 1980s, and the brand name was discontinued in 2007.

Founder and early history

Born on 13 October 1847 near Machynlleth, Wales, Owen Owen came from a family of hill farmers who endured financial difficulties following the Napoleonic Wars. After losing his mother at age eight, he relocated to Bath to assist his uncle Samuel Evans with his drapery business, benefiting from both familial support and education. He studied at Wesleyan College in Taunton and began his career in retail in 1860.

At 20 years old, in 1868, Owen established his own drapery store at 121 London Road, Liverpool, close to his uncle’s shop. By 1873, he employed more than 120 workers and managed a large retail establishment. Renowned for forward-thinking labor practices, he was the first employer in Liverpool to offer employees a half-day off each week and created a retirement fund for staff. During the 1880s, he diversified by investing in railways and served as director of Evans & Owen Ltd in Bath. After marrying, he moved to London in 1891 but continued overseeing the Liverpool store, which became one of northern England’s largest retail outlets. His daughter’s marriage into the Norman family led to their leadership of the company starting in the 1920s.

Owen Owen also engaged actively with Welsh cultural organizations and passed away from cancer in London on 27 March 1910 at age 62.

Expansion and collapse

Originally launched as a drapery shop at Liverpool’s 121 London Road location, Owen Owen adapted as retail trends shifted during the 1920s by relocating to Clayton Square. There, they opened a large custom-built department store funded by the Owen family. The company acquired rival chain T. J. Hughes and moved its Liverpool operation back to the vacated London Road site.

Growth continued with a new store opening in Coventry in 1937 and acquisition of Frederick Matthews in Preston. The Coventry branch endured IRA bomb attacks in 1939 and sustained damage during the Coventry Blitz of 1940. Following World War II, expansion included purchasing Canadian retailer G W Robinson Ltd in 1951 and reconstructing key UK locations.

Owen Owen’s shopfitting division evolved into Plumb (Contract Furnishers and Shopfitters) Ltd. In 1973, the company successfully took over South West department store group James Colmer, pushing profits from £7.2 million in 1972 to £10.3 million by 1973. Further expansion occurred in 1976 with acquisition of eight stores from Maple Macowards and a property exchange deal with House of Fraser. By 1979, Owen Owen operated nineteen department stores under its own or original titles along with three T. J. Hughes outlets across the UK and seven G W Robinson stores in Canada.

During the 1980s, ownership passed out of the Owen family’s hands; G W Robinson was sold off in 1982 while T. J. Hughes became independent. In 1991, Owen Owen acquired several Lewis's stores from administration, briefly branding them 'Lewis's Owen Owen' before being purchased by Philip Green in 1994.

Green introduced "Kid's HQ" departments within select stores in 1995 but soon divested assets, closing the Liverpool flagship location and shrinking operations down to one Lewis's store after selling others to chains such as Allders and Debenhams.

In early 2005, David Thompson bought Green’s shares and began expanding again by acquiring Joplings, Robbs, and Esslemont & MacIntosh stores. Although the Owen Owen name ceased public use, it remained as the registered company title.

On 28 February 2007, citing factors including disruption caused by Liverpool's Big Dig urban renewal project, Owen Owen entered administration. The Esslemont & MacIntosh store in Aberdeen closed by May that year. Later that month, Vergo Retail Ltd., controlled by former owner David Thompson, acquired the Liverpool, Hexham, and Sunderland branches enabling them to continue trading.

Owen Owen

Liverpool: Founded in 1868 on London Road; moved to Clayton Square in 1925; ceased operations in 1996
Basingstoke: Located in The Malls, launched in 1981; closed by 1992
Bath: Originally James Colmer, retained original signage post-1973 acquisition; shut down in 1991; premises partially redeveloped for mixed commercial and residential purposes
Birkenhead: Opened in 1959; converted into a T J Hughes outlet in 1965
Blackpool: Established in 1946; transitioned to T J Hughes format in 1965 at 12–16 Bank Hey Street
Brighton: Previously W J Wade, acquired in 1975; closed in 1981
Bristol: Formerly W Morgan, acquired alongside James Colmer; closed in 1973
Chester: Formerly Richard Jones, bought in 1960; integrated William Jones grocery as a food hall; closed in 1999
Colwyn Bay: Previously W S Wood, purchased in 1975; ceased trading in 1981
Coventry: City Centre store opened in 1937; destroyed during the 1940 blitz; rebuilt by 1954; closed in 1996; premises later occupied by Allders and Primark from 2005 onwards
Crawley: Located at County Mall, opened in 1992; shut down by 1994
Doncaster: Former Verity & Sons store, acquired in 1950; sold to House of Fraser in 1976
Erdington: Previously W M Taylor & Sons, purchased in 1971; closed at 210-216 High Street in 1977
Evesham: Former Hamilton & Bell store, bought in 1975; closed by 1982
Hereford: Commercial Street branch of Hamilton & Bell acquired in 1975; ceased operations in 1979
Ilford: The Exchange location opened in 1991; closed five years later in 1996
Ipswich: Buttermarket store launched in 1992; closed by 1996
Kidderminster: Swan Walk branch of Hamilton & Bell acquired in 1975; closed by 1992 and transferred to T J Hughes
Newport: Formerly Reynolds, purchased in 1975; shut down by 1989
North Finchley: Previously Priors, acquired in 1963; closed its doors by 1993
Preston: Former Frederick Matthew store, bought in 1937; closed by 1989
Redditch: Kingfisher Centre location opened in 1980; ceased trading by 1996
Richmond: Former Wright Brothers store acquired from House of Fraser in 1976; closed by 1990
Shrewsbury: Previously R Maddox & Co, purchased from Macowards in 1976; closed by 1990
Slough: Former Suters store acquired in 1978; ceased operations by 1996
Southampton: Previously E Mayes & Son, bought in 1949; closed its doors by 1994
Stourbridge: Former J H Stringer store purchased in 1975; shut down by 1990 and demolished five years later in 1995
Taunton: Former Clements & Brown location acquired alongside James Colmer in 1973; closed by 1979
Uxbridge: Previously Suters, purchased in 1978; closed permanently by 1998. Currently operates as a Sports Direct outlet
Weston-super-Mare: Former B T Butter store acquired with James Colmer group in 1973; ceased operations by 1993
Wolverhampton: Opened at Mander Centre in 1968; closed down by 1991 and transferred to T J Hughes; site later redeveloped for Debenhams until its closure in 2020

T J Hughes

Liverpool, located on London Road
Birkenhead, converted from Owen Owen ownership during the transition of 1965
Blackpool, also transferred from Owen Owen at the same time as Birkenhead; shuttered by 1971 with premises sold to W H Smith
Bootle, launched operations in 1968
Kidderminster, formerly under Owen Owen before transfer to T J Hughes
Leicester, opened its doors in 1967 but closed shortly after by 1969
St. Helens, commenced business operations from the year of its opening,1988
Wolverhampton, transitioned from Owen Owen ownership alongside other branches

Lewis's

Acquired in 1991.

Additional department stores

Aberdeen, Esslemont & Macintosh, acquisition in 2005, ceased operations in 2007
Hexham, Robbs, acquired in 2005
Southport, Boothroyds, taken over in 1990, closed by 1993
Southport, Broadbents, purchased in 1990, shut down in 1993
Sunderland, Joplings, acquired in 2005

Former G W Robinson locations in Canada

Burlington Centre, Burlington, Ontario
Centre Mall, Hamilton, Ontario
James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario
Eastgate Square, Hamilton, Ontario
Lime Ridge Mall, Hamilton, Ontario
The Pen Centre, St. Catharines
Niagara Square Shopping Centre, Niagara Falls, Ontario
Conestoga Mall, Waterloo, Ontario

The Owen Owen Trust Fund

The trust continues as a registered charity, offering assistance to former Owen Owen employees along with their spouses and dependants.

Sources

David Wyn Davies: Owen Owen: Victorian Draper (Gwasg Cambria, Aberystwyth, 1983)

External links