N Brown Group
Encyclopedia
N Brown Group plc is a British
business group
and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
based in Manchester
, England. It trades as a home shopping
retailer under several names, including JD Williams, Jacamo, SimplyBe and High and Mighty.
The company flourished, but the family connection was broken when the Williams family interests were bought out by Alliance Brothers Limited in 1963. Other catalogue companies were purchased, and the holding company for these became N Brown Investments.
In 1970 the Company, then still called JD Williams, was wholly acquired by Sir David Alliance who reversed it into his property company N Brown Group plc.
In a joint venture with Northern and Shell, owners of the Daily Express
, on 21 October 2004, the company launched the Express Shopping Channel. This closed in 2005.
In 2007 the Company won the Manchester Evening News
"Business Of The Year" title for businesses with a turnover exceeding £50m.
Current brands include Fashion World, Gray & Osbourn, House of Bath, Jacamo, Marisota, Oxendales, Simply Be, JD Williams, Williams & Brown and High & Mighty.
, in Greater Manchester, and Hadfield
in Derbyshire.
Gray & Osbourn is based in London
, House of Bath is based in Bath while Oxendales is based in Dublin, High and Mighty is based in Newbury
.
The company has entered into long running contracts with BeCogent
, an outsourced call centre in Airdrie
, who handle orderline and customer service calls, and ResQ in Hull, who fulfill these roles as well as an outbound team that calls existing customers and offers a discount on catalogue prices if they choose to place an order with them.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
business group
Business group
A corporate group is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. The concept of a group is frequently used in tax law, accounting and company law to attribute the rights and duties of one member of the group to...
and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
based in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. It trades as a home shopping
Home shopping
Home shopping commonly refers to the electronic retailing/home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as HSN, QVC, eBay, ShopNBC, Buy.com, and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher...
retailer under several names, including JD Williams, Jacamo, SimplyBe and High and Mighty.
History
The oldest company within the group was founded by James David Williams in 1859 when he started in business operating three mobile shops.The company flourished, but the family connection was broken when the Williams family interests were bought out by Alliance Brothers Limited in 1963. Other catalogue companies were purchased, and the holding company for these became N Brown Investments.
In 1970 the Company, then still called JD Williams, was wholly acquired by Sir David Alliance who reversed it into his property company N Brown Group plc.
In a joint venture with Northern and Shell, owners of the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, on 21 October 2004, the company launched the Express Shopping Channel. This closed in 2005.
In 2007 the Company won the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
"Business Of The Year" title for businesses with a turnover exceeding £50m.
Operations
The company focuses each of its brands on a section of the fashion-buying public traditionally ignored or poorly-served by the UK high street. The company's catalogues target women aged 30 and above, with a particular focus on those over 50, and usually those of a larger frame.Current brands include Fashion World, Gray & Osbourn, House of Bath, Jacamo, Marisota, Oxendales, Simply Be, JD Williams, Williams & Brown and High & Mighty.
Subsidiaries
Current wholly owned subsidiaries are:-- J D Williams & Co. Limited, Direct home shopping by catalogue, England
- Gray & Osbourn Limited, Direct home shopping by catalogue, England
- Oxendale & Co. Limited, Direct home shopping by catalogue, Republic of Ireland
- J D W Finance Limited, Financing and ancillary services, England
- First Financial Limited, Financial services, England
- N B Insurance Guernsey, Limited Insurance services, Guernsey
Ownership
Two of the major shareholders, Lord Alliance and Nigel Alliance, sit on the board.Location
The business has its operational Head Office in Manchester's Northern Quarter and has warehousing and distribution centres in Shaw and CromptonShaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
, in Greater Manchester, and Hadfield
Hadfield, Derbyshire
Hadfield is a parish and small residential town in High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It lies very close to the River Etherow which forms the border between Derbyshire and Greater Manchester...
in Derbyshire.
Gray & Osbourn is based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, House of Bath is based in Bath while Oxendales is based in Dublin, High and Mighty is based in Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
.
The company has entered into long running contracts with BeCogent
BeCogent Group
beCogent was a Scottish call centre company that provided outsourced telesales, customer relations and helpdesk services to a variety of companies. The company was founded in 1999 by Ron Peerenboom and Dermot Jenkinson...
, an outsourced call centre in Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, who handle orderline and customer service calls, and ResQ in Hull, who fulfill these roles as well as an outbound team that calls existing customers and offers a discount on catalogue prices if they choose to place an order with them.