Owen Owen
Encyclopedia
Owen Owen was a Liverpool
-based operator of department store
s in the United Kingdom
.
His family were hill farmers at the westernmost tip of Montgomeryshire
in the hills south of Machynlleth
. Welsh agriculture had prospered during the Napoleonic Wars
when imports of food were restricted but, after the war, there was such a severe depression that in 1838 the farm which had been their home for generations had to be mortgaged and the following year sold.
Owen Owen was the first child of his father's second wife but she died after giving birth to six children when Owen Owen was only eight. His mother had a brother, Samuel, who needed help to run his draper
's shop in Bath. So Owen Owen went to Bath and his uncle gave him both a home and an education. In 1868, at the age of 20, with some help from Uncle Samuel, Owen Owen opened his own draper's shop at 121 London Road, Liverpool. (His father's brother, Robert, had had a shop at number 93 but he died in 1857.) The company effectively remained under family control until 1985. Owen Owen was interested in his staff's well-being. Besides being the first employer in Liverpool to give staff a half day off each week, he also set up a trust fund for employees in need.
shop at 121 London Road in Liverpool. Over the years the store expanded, but when the city's retail focus moved away from the London Road area, the Owen family lent the company the money to move to a better position on Clayton Square where a large purpose-built department store was erected. The company then purchased rival chain T J Hughes
and moved that firm's Liverpool store into the empty London Road premises.
Owen Owen then expanded by building a store in Coventry
, which was bombed during World War II
. After the war it continued to expand, purchasing G W Robinson in Canada
and adding other stores to the UK portfolio, the Coventry store being rebuilt on a slightly different site.
A subsidiary company, Plumb (Contract Furnishers and Shopfitters) Ltd., was created from its own shopfitting department, and had offices at Bishop Street, Coventry and Kempston Street, Liverpool.
In the 1980s the Owen family sold the business. T J Hughes was split off and G W Robinson sold. In 1991 the firm purchased several Lewis's
stores from administration and was known briefly under the business name of 'Lewis's Owen Owen', before being taken over by Philip Green
. In 1995 he released the brand Kid's HQ in 4 of his Lewis's and Owen Owen Stores. The company was then stripped of its assets which included the closure of the flagship Liverpool branch of Owen Owen (now a Tesco
Metro and TK Maxx) and was cut from twelve stores to one, Lewis's of Liverpool, following the sale of many stores to other chains including Allders
and Debenhams
.
Then, in early 2005, Philip Green sold his stake in the business to David Thompson who began a new phase of expansion at Owen Owen, acquiring Joplings
and Robbs
from the now defunct Merchant Retail Group and purchasing Esslemont & MacIntosh from the Esslemont family. The Owen Owen brand name was no longer used, but remained the name of the operating company.
On 28 February 2007 Owen Owen entered administration. The reason claimed for Owen Owen's demise was the disruption in Liverpool city centre caused by the Big Dig
. The Aberdeen
, Esslemont & MacIntosh, store was closed down on 5 May 2007. Also in May 2007, however, the Liverpool, Hexham and Sunderland stores were sold as a going concern to Vergo Retail Ltd.
, controlled by the previous owner of Owen Owen, David Thompson, and enabling the stores to continue to trade.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-based operator of department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s in the United Kingdom
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...
.
The man
Owen Owen was born in October 1847 and died on Easter Sunday in 1910 at the age of 62.His family were hill farmers at the westernmost tip of Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
in the hills south of Machynlleth
Machynlleth
Machynlleth is a market town in Powys, Wales. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads.Machynlleth was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404, and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". However, it has never held any official...
. Welsh agriculture had prospered during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
when imports of food were restricted but, after the war, there was such a severe depression that in 1838 the farm which had been their home for generations had to be mortgaged and the following year sold.
Owen Owen was the first child of his father's second wife but she died after giving birth to six children when Owen Owen was only eight. His mother had a brother, Samuel, who needed help to run his draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
's shop in Bath. So Owen Owen went to Bath and his uncle gave him both a home and an education. In 1868, at the age of 20, with some help from Uncle Samuel, Owen Owen opened his own draper's shop at 121 London Road, Liverpool. (His father's brother, Robert, had had a shop at number 93 but he died in 1857.) The company effectively remained under family control until 1985. Owen Owen was interested in his staff's well-being. Besides being the first employer in Liverpool to give staff a half day off each week, he also set up a trust fund for employees in need.
The shop
Owen Owen opened a draperyDrapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles . It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or...
shop at 121 London Road in Liverpool. Over the years the store expanded, but when the city's retail focus moved away from the London Road area, the Owen family lent the company the money to move to a better position on Clayton Square where a large purpose-built department store was erected. The company then purchased rival chain T J Hughes
T J Hughes
T J Hughes is a British discount department store brand. As an individual chain of shops T J Hughes emerged in Liverpool in 1925 and continued to trade until entering liquidation in 2011...
and moved that firm's Liverpool store into the empty London Road premises.
Owen Owen then expanded by building a store in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, which was bombed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war it continued to expand, purchasing G W Robinson in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and adding other stores to the UK portfolio, the Coventry store being rebuilt on a slightly different site.
A subsidiary company, Plumb (Contract Furnishers and Shopfitters) Ltd., was created from its own shopfitting department, and had offices at Bishop Street, Coventry and Kempston Street, Liverpool.
In the 1980s the Owen family sold the business. T J Hughes was split off and G W Robinson sold. In 1991 the firm purchased several Lewis's
Lewis's
Lewis's was a large department store in Liverpool city centre. It was formerly the flagship of a chain of department stores under the Lewis's name, that operated from 1856 to 1991, when the company went into administration. Several stores in the chain were bought by the company Owen Owen and...
stores from administration and was known briefly under the business name of 'Lewis's Owen Owen', before being taken over by Philip Green
Philip Green
Sir Philip Green is a British businessman. Green was born into a Jewish family in 1952, beginning as a businessman at the age of 15. The first and last quoted company Green took lead of was "Amber Day", from which he stepped down as CEO and Chairman in 1992...
. In 1995 he released the brand Kid's HQ in 4 of his Lewis's and Owen Owen Stores. The company was then stripped of its assets which included the closure of the flagship Liverpool branch of Owen Owen (now a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
Metro and TK Maxx) and was cut from twelve stores to one, Lewis's of Liverpool, following the sale of many stores to other chains including Allders
Allders
Allders is an independent department store in Croydon, established by Joshua Allder in 1862. It is the fourth-largest department store in the United Kingdom.The Croydon store was the flagship of a large chain of department stores in the UK...
and Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
.
Then, in early 2005, Philip Green sold his stake in the business to David Thompson who began a new phase of expansion at Owen Owen, acquiring Joplings
Joplings
Joplings was a department store, located in Sunderland, England, which was part of the former Vergo Retail Ltd. group of department stores.-History:The store was established in 1804...
and Robbs
Robbs
Robbs is a mid-size department store in Hexham, owned by Beales. It was set up and created in 1819 by William Robb and expanded in the 1920s and 1980s respectively. It has had a long and extravagant history...
from the now defunct Merchant Retail Group and purchasing Esslemont & MacIntosh from the Esslemont family. The Owen Owen brand name was no longer used, but remained the name of the operating company.
On 28 February 2007 Owen Owen entered administration. The reason claimed for Owen Owen's demise was the disruption in Liverpool city centre caused by the Big Dig
Big Dig (Liverpool)
The Big Dig was a collection of various civil engineering projects in Liverpool to regenerate the city.The scheme was a ten-year plan for the city's 2008 European Capital of Culture status. The city gained a new shopping centre Liverpool One...
. The Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Esslemont & MacIntosh, store was closed down on 5 May 2007. Also in May 2007, however, the Liverpool, Hexham and Sunderland stores were sold as a going concern to Vergo Retail Ltd.
Vergo Retail
Vergo Retail Ltd was a department store business based in Liverpool, England, founded in 2007 and currently in administration. Vergo Retail ran 20 shops, consisting of nine department stores, including Lewis's of Liverpool, Robbs of Hexham, Joplings of Sunderland and Derrys of Plymouth and four...
, controlled by the previous owner of Owen Owen, David Thompson, and enabling the stores to continue to trade.
Further reading
- David Wyn Davies: Owen Owen: Victorian Draper (Gwasg Cambria, Aberystwyth, 1983) ISBN 0-900439-16-5