Brown Thomas
Encyclopedia
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of four Irish
department stores, located in Dublin, Cork
, Galway
and Limerick
. Owned by Wittington Investments
, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Canada's Holt Renfrew
chain and Britain's Selfridges
stores, which are also controlled by the Weston family
.
, Louis Vuitton
, Christian Dior, Gucci
, Armani Cosmetics, Jo Malone, Molton Brown, Penhaligon's
, and the like. Ladies boutiques include Chanel
, Valentino
, Versace, Jimmy Choo
, and many others. A Vera Wang
bridal salon recently opened. In November 2008 the Fine jewellery hall opened with Tiffany & Co, Cartier and, Theo Fennell boutiques inside.
clothing and accessories. The downstairs menswear section of the Dublin branch has been recently renovated. Ralph Lauren, Gant, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabanna and Prada are some of the brands that can be found in the new mens basement area. Both the restaurant and cafe are now located together on the top floor of the store.
Previously connected to the Dublin branch was Aya Sushi Bar, on Clarendon Street. This was a conveyor sushi bar, and a stop here provided some respite from shopping in the area. This closed in January 2009. In May 2009 a branch of Yo-Sushi opened at the same location.
. These stores have more mass market clothes aimed at 18 -35, such as the Ralph Lauren, Original Penguin & Gstar. In the Grafton street outlet there is an LCD screen which shows children's films so children be entertained while their parents shop for them.
BT2 also sells a wide range of cosmetics. Paris Hilton
chose BT2 as the launchsite of her perfume Heiress by Paris Hilton.
In the summer of 2006 Starbucks Coffee opened an outlet the first floor of BT2 Grafton Street.
Revenues for 2009 were €203m down from €246m the previous year and €272m in 2007. Profits fell to €2.7m from €14.7m the previous year and €23.1m in 2007.
in 1919 and operated as a branch of Selfridge Provincial Stores until 1933 when it was sold to John McGuire, who had made his name in Clerys
. In the 1960s the company went public on the Irish Stock Exchange. In 1971, Galen Weston
bought a share in the company and in 1983 bought the balance of the shares and Brown Thomas became private again. In 1989 the company attempted to buy the Switzer Group which included Switzers in Dublin, along with its sister stores Cashs of Cork, Moons of Galway and Todds of Limerick from House of Fraser
but was outbid by the Ewart Group from Belfast. Ewart subsequently failed as the deal could not be financed allowing Brown Thomas to make a second bid in November 1990 which was accepted. The acquisition was subsequently completed on 16 April 1991. In 1994 Brown Thomas sold its original store to Marks & Spencer
for £20m and took over the lease of the then M&S store at 28/29 Grafton Street, which is now BT2. This transaction completed on 11 February 1995. The two Dublin stores merged in Switzer's location on 14 February 1995, but under the name Brown Thomas. Cashs, Moon's and Todd's continued until 1998, however between 1998 and 2000 were all rebranded Brown Thomas. BT2 meanwhile opened in 1998.
The company also owned the A-wear retail chain until June 2007. The Brown Thomas Group sold A-wear for €70m to a management buyout (MBO) team which was backed by UK private equity firm Alchemy Partners. It is understood that Brown Thomas had expected to get €85m for the A-wear business but later settled for the lower sum.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
department stores, located in Dublin, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
and Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
. Owned by Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments Limited is an unquoted British investment company. It is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, which is one of the UK's largest grant-making trusts, and 20.8% owned by members of the Weston family....
, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Canada's Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew
Holt Renfrew is a chain of high-end Canadian department stores. It is comparable to Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue in the United States, and to two other upmarket chains owned by the same family, Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's Brown Thomas...
chain and Britain's Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
stores, which are also controlled by the Weston family
Galen Weston
Willard Gordon Galen Weston, OC, OOnt , is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and President of George Weston Limited...
.
Dublin store(s)
The 130000 square feet (12,077.4 m²) Dublin Store on Grafton Street is the chain's flagship location. It includes Boutiques for HermèsHermès
Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear...
, Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Christian Dior, Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
, Armani Cosmetics, Jo Malone, Molton Brown, Penhaligon's
Penhaligon's
Penhaligon's is an English perfume house. It was founded in the late 1860s by William Henry Penhaligon, a Cornish barber who moved to London and who became Court Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria.- History :...
, and the like. Ladies boutiques include Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Valentino
Valentino SpA
Valentino SpA is a clothing company founded in 1959 by Valentino Garavani. Nowadays it is a part of Valentino Fashion Group. New creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli will take Alessandra Facchinetti's seat as creative designer...
, Versace, Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo
Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes....
, and many others. A Vera Wang
Vera Wang
Vera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...
bridal salon recently opened. In November 2008 the Fine jewellery hall opened with Tiffany & Co, Cartier and, Theo Fennell boutiques inside.
Other store information
The stores appeal to a wide audience, selling both prêt-à-porter and haute coutureHaute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
clothing and accessories. The downstairs menswear section of the Dublin branch has been recently renovated. Ralph Lauren, Gant, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabanna and Prada are some of the brands that can be found in the new mens basement area. Both the restaurant and cafe are now located together on the top floor of the store.
Previously connected to the Dublin branch was Aya Sushi Bar, on Clarendon Street. This was a conveyor sushi bar, and a stop here provided some respite from shopping in the area. This closed in January 2009. In May 2009 a branch of Yo-Sushi opened at the same location.
BT2
Brown Thomas also operates the BT2 chain, located in Grafton Street, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre and Dundrum Town CentreDundrum Town Centre
"Dundrum Town Centre" is the name of a shopping centre located in Dundrum, in Dublin, in Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 160 tenants, more than 80,000 square metres of floor space and over 3,400 car parking spaces...
. These stores have more mass market clothes aimed at 18 -35, such as the Ralph Lauren, Original Penguin & Gstar. In the Grafton street outlet there is an LCD screen which shows children's films so children be entertained while their parents shop for them.
BT2 also sells a wide range of cosmetics. Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
chose BT2 as the launchsite of her perfume Heiress by Paris Hilton.
In the summer of 2006 Starbucks Coffee opened an outlet the first floor of BT2 Grafton Street.
Stores
- Dublin - 130000 square feet (12,077.4 m²)
- CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
- 57000 square feet (5,295.5 m²) - LimerickLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
- 43000 square feet (3,994.8 m²) - GalwayGalwayGalway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
- 17000 square feet (1,579.4 m²)
Revenues for 2009 were €203m down from €246m the previous year and €272m in 2007. Profits fell to €2.7m from €14.7m the previous year and €23.1m in 2007.
History
The Dublin store was opened by Hugh Brown at 16 Grafton Street in 1848. The following year with James Thomas they expanded into No.17. By the mid-1850s they had also bought number 15 and enlarged the shop further. The company was purchased by Harry Gordon SelfridgeHarry Gordon Selfridge
Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. was an American-born retail magnate, who founded the British department store Selfridges.-Early years:...
in 1919 and operated as a branch of Selfridge Provincial Stores until 1933 when it was sold to John McGuire, who had made his name in Clerys
Clerys
Clerys is a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, a focal point of the street, and of the city....
. In the 1960s the company went public on the Irish Stock Exchange. In 1971, Galen Weston
Galen Weston
Willard Gordon Galen Weston, OC, OOnt , is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and President of George Weston Limited...
bought a share in the company and in 1983 bought the balance of the shares and Brown Thomas became private again. In 1989 the company attempted to buy the Switzer Group which included Switzers in Dublin, along with its sister stores Cashs of Cork, Moons of Galway and Todds of Limerick from House of Fraser
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
but was outbid by the Ewart Group from Belfast. Ewart subsequently failed as the deal could not be financed allowing Brown Thomas to make a second bid in November 1990 which was accepted. The acquisition was subsequently completed on 16 April 1991. In 1994 Brown Thomas sold its original store to Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
for £20m and took over the lease of the then M&S store at 28/29 Grafton Street, which is now BT2. This transaction completed on 11 February 1995. The two Dublin stores merged in Switzer's location on 14 February 1995, but under the name Brown Thomas. Cashs, Moon's and Todd's continued until 1998, however between 1998 and 2000 were all rebranded Brown Thomas. BT2 meanwhile opened in 1998.
The company also owned the A-wear retail chain until June 2007. The Brown Thomas Group sold A-wear for €70m to a management buyout (MBO) team which was backed by UK private equity firm Alchemy Partners. It is understood that Brown Thomas had expected to get €85m for the A-wear business but later settled for the lower sum.
Further reading
- Brown Thomas website
- Interview with Dalton Philips, ex-managing director of Brown Thomas
- http://www.showbizireland.com/news/july06/11-nylon01.shtmlVisit by Nylon (band)Nylon (band)Nylon is an Icelandic girl group composed of members Alma Guðmundsdóttir , Steinunn Þóra Camilla Sigurðardóttir and Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir...
] - Breast Cancer campaign launched in store
- Breast cancer campaign launch
- Breast Cancer campaign launch
- Irish cancer society
- Euromonitor Lists Brown Thomas as 8th leading retailer in 2003
- Haverty Anne(2005),Elegant Times, Dublin:Sonas:ISBN 1-899565-01-9