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===Europe===
===Europe===
====Armenia====
*[[Yerevan]], [[66 Teryan str.]]
====Azerbaijan====
*[[Baku]], [[Park Boulevard Shopping Mall]], 1&2 floors

====Czech Republic====
*[[Prague]]

====Iceland====
*[[Kópavogur]], Smáralind (Mall)

====Ireland====
{{Main|Debenhams Ireland}}

====Malta====
* [[Tigné Point]], [[Sliema]]<ref>[http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090713/local/debenhams-launching-malta-recruitment-drive Debenhams launching Malta recruitment drive]</ref>

====Republic of Moldova====
*[[Chişinău]], Shopping Mall Dova [http://shoppingmalldova.md/ro/index.php][http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malldova.JPG]

====Romania====
*[[Bucharest]]
*[[Oradea]]
*[[Cluj Napoca]]
*[[Constanta]]

====Slovakia====
*[[Bratislava]] Eurovea Galleria, Pribinova str. 8, Bratislava. New store will start from 8 May 2010{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

===Armenia===
===Armenia===
*[[Yerevan]], [[66 Teryan str.]]
*[[Yerevan]], [[66 Teryan str.]]

Revision as of 10:44, 10 April 2011

Debenhams plc
Company typePublic limited company
IndustryRetailing
PredecessorDrapery Trust Edit this on Wikidata
Founded1778
SuccessorBurton Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
Nigel Northridge (Chairman)
Rob Templeman, (CEO)
ProductsFashion clothing, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home & furniture, electricals, gifts, toys
Revenue£1,915.6 million (2009)[1]
£182.2 million (2009)[1]
£95.1 million (2009)[1]
Number of employees
24,000 (2010)[2]
Websitewww.debenhams.com

Debenhams plc (LSE: DEB) 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. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Debenhams on Briggate in Leeds.

The business was formed in 1778 by Messrs Flint and Clark who began trading at 44 Wigmore Street in London as a drapers' store under the name Flint & Clark.[3] In 1813 William Debenham was made a partner so the name was changed to Clark and Debenham.[3] In 1818 the Company opened a second store in Cheltenham[3] and in 1851 Clement Freebody became a partner so the name was changed again, this time to Debenham & Freebody.[3] The business was incorporated as Debenhams Limited in 1905.[4]

The modern Debenhams group grew from the acquisition of department stores in towns and cities throughout the UK, under the leadership of its Chairman, Ernest Debenham. The first of these purchases, Marshall & Snelgrove at Oxford Street in London, was acquired in 1919.[3] Later purchases included Harvey Nichols in London's Knightsbridge in 1920.[3] Most stores acquired retained their former identities until a unified corporate image was rolled out across the stores. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1928.

In 1976 the Company acquired Browns of Chester – the only store that has retained its pre-acquired identity.[3]

In 1985 the Company was acquired by the Burton group.[3] Debenhams was demerged in 1998 and was once again listed as a separate Company on the London Stock Exchange.[3] It expanded under the leadership of Belinda Earl who was appointed CEO in 2000.[5]

On 4 September 2003[6], Debenhams opened its largest British store at the new Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham, 20 years after it had closed its original Birmingham city centre store due to declining trade.[7]It has also had a store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre since 4 November 1989. In the West Midlands, it also as a town centre store in Walsall; from 1983 to 1989 this was the company's only store in the region, following the closure of the Birmingham store during 1983 and the Dudley store in January 1981.

The Company was acquired again in late 2003 this time by a private consortium comprising CVC Capital Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity and management. The company returned to a listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.

In November 2009, the Company acquired the Danish department store group Magasin Du Nord.[8]

In October 2010, the company launched its first iPhone app. The app allows shoppers to shop the online range and barcode scan products in store. [9]

Operations

As of February 2010, the company has 153 stores (including 13 'Desire by Debenhams' stores)[2] covering 10.373 million square feet of retail space across the United Kingdom and Ireland.[10] It also has over 40 franchise stores operating in other countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia.

Debenhams suffered a significant fall in revenue at the turn of the 1980s due to the recession at the time and closed several of its less viable stores, including the town centre store in Dudley, West Midlands, which ceased trading in January 1981. However, the company's fortunes improved with the economic recovery that progressed as the decade wore on, and Debenhams was one of several big retail chains who took advantage of the Enterprise Zone incentives that were offered by the new Merry Hill Shopping Centre at Dudley in the late 1980s, opening a new store there when the final phase of the centre opened in November 1989.[citation needed]

Stores

Debenhams occupies the most number of sites of any of the traditional department store groups in the UK. The majority of the original trading names of the stores, in each of their respective locations, were replaced with the 'Debenhams' name during the 1970s. All department stores in the group now trade as 'Debenhams' except Browns in Chester. New stores are usually located within wider town and regional shopping centre developments. Stores amalgamated into the group include

New stores

The first store that opened in 2010 was Newcastle, as part of the Eldon Square development, opened on 16 February 2010.[citation needed] The second Debenhams store to open in 2010 was Carmarthen as part of the St Catherine's Walk devlopmment. This store opened on 30 April 2010.[citation needed] Debenhams new Bath store is set to open on 2 September 2010 as part of the town's Southgate Development. In September 2010, Debenhams will open a flagship store as part of the new Southgate Centre in Bath. Bath has been voted one of the best cities in the UK, which according to Rob Templeman, CEO of Debenhams, is a perfect place to open a store.[citation needed] The latest Debenhams store to open is in The Rock, the new shopping centre opening in Bury, Greater Manchester. This store opened on 16 July 2010.[citation needed]

Products

Debenhams, Newcastle Eldon Square
Debenhams, Bangor, north Wales
Debenhams, Castle Court, Belfast, Northern ireland
Debenhams, Bristol
Crypt Chambers in Chester houses part of the Browns of Chester store and is a Grade I listed building
Entrance to Browns of Chester, Eastgate Street, Chester
Debenhams, Briggate, Leeds
Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester (Debenhams store, Market Street, in background)

The company introduced 'Designers at Debenhams' in 1993 ,[11] the revolutionary idea put designer names at high street prices, the creation of Belinda Earle and Spencer Hawken the brands include Jasper Conran, John Rocha, Betty Jackson Black, Butterfly by Matthew Williamson, H! by Henry Holland, Star By Julien Macdonald, Frost French, Erickson Beamon, Eric Van Peterson, Janet Reger, Pip Hackett, Melissa Odabash, Ted Baker, St George by Duffer, Jeff Banks and Ben De Lisi. The company also sells goods under a number of brand names that it owns in its own right.

In 2008 the Company was voted best UK department store by GMTV.[12]

In October 2010 Debenhams announced the launch of four new designer names to its fashion range; Jonathan Saunders, Preen, Jonathan Kelsey and Roksanda Ilincic, who will be working with the retailer on a fresh new concept called Edition.[13]

International stores

Africa

Egypt

Asia

Bahrain

Cyprus

India

Indonesia

Iran

Jordan

Kuwait

Malaysia

Philippines

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Vietnam

Europe

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Czech Republic

Iceland

Ireland

Main article: Debenhams Ireland

Malta

Republic of Moldova

Romania

Slovakia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Czech Republic

Iceland

Ireland

Main article: Debenhams Ireland

Malta

Republic of Moldova

Romania

Slovakia

References

  1. ^ a b c Annual Report 2009
  2. ^ a b Debenhams: About us
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Debenhams History
  4. ^ Retail Department Stores
  5. ^ Belinda Earl interview
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ Debenhams buys Danish retailer Magasin du Nord for m Drapers, 12 November 2009
  9. ^ Debenhams mobile app
  10. ^ Debenhams Interim Results page 3
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ GMTV Ariel Fashion Awards
  13. ^ Debenhams blog - Four new designers join Debenhams for ‘Edition’
  14. ^ Debenhams 'to open first store in Iran'
  15. ^ Debenhams launching Malta recruitment drive
  16. ^ Debenhams launching Malta recruitment drive

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