Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five Irish department stores, located in
Dublin,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
,
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
,
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
and
Dundrum Town Centre
Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 169 tenants, almost of floor space, and over 3,400 car parking spaces. It is located just south of the village ...
. Part of the Selfridges Group, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Britain's
Selfridges stores and
De Bijenkorf
De Bijenkorf (; literally, "the beehive") is a chain of high-end department stores in the Netherlands, with its flagship store on Dam Square in Amsterdam. The chain is owned by Selfridges Group, which also owns Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's ...
in the Netherlands, which also belong to the Selfridges Group and were formerly owned by the
Weston family
The Weston family is a prominent Canadian-origin family of businesspeople with global interests primarily in food and clothing ventures. The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 by American-born Canadian George Weston in ...
. It has been a member of the
International Association of Department Stores
The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to thei ...
from 1993 to 1999.
History
The Dublin store was opened by Hugh Brown at 16 Grafton Street in 1848. The following year, with James Thomas, he 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 Selfridge 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 was a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland, a focal point of the street. The business dates from 1853, however the current building dates from 1922, having been completely destroyed in the 1916 Ea ...
.
In the 1960s, the company went public on the
Irish Stock Exchange
Euronext Dublin (formerly The Irish Stock Exchange, ISE; ga, Stocmhalartán na hÉireann) is Ireland's main stock exchange, and has been in existence since 1793.
The Euronext Dublin lists debt and fund securities and is used as a European ga ...
. 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
House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...
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 then became BT2. This transaction was 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
Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe.
Alchemy was founded in 1997 b ...
. It is understood that Brown Thomas had expected to get €85m for the A-wear business, but later settled for the lower sum.
In February 2022, a store opened in the
Dundrum Town Centre
Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 169 tenants, almost of floor space, and over 3,400 car parking spaces. It is located just south of the village ...
, taking over part of the former
House of Fraser
House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...
location there – the first store to open under the Brown Thomas name.
Dublin store
The 12,000 m² Dublin store on
Grafton Street is the chain's flagship location. It includes boutiques for
Hermès
Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, sinc ...
,
Louis Vuitton,
Celine,
Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...
,
Arami,
Balenciaga
Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...
,
Prada,
Armani
Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
,
Jo Malone
Joanne Lesley Malone CBE (born 5 November 1963) is a British perfumer and founder of the companies Jo Malone London and Jo Loves. Malone founded Jo Malone London in 1990 and later sold the company in 1999 to its current parent company Estee ...
,
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury MBE is a British beauty entrepreneur and makeup artist. She is the founder, chairperson, president, and chief creative officer of the makeup and skincare brand Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Ltd. Tilbury is a contributing beauty edi ...
,
Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown (born in April 14, 1957) is an American professional make-up artist, author, and the founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. She created ten natural-shade lipsticks which according to ''Entrepreneur'' "revolutionized the beauty industry". ...
,
Chanel
Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
,
Burberry
Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories ...
,
Saint Laurent,
Ralph Lauren,
Coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
,
Michael Kors
Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...
,
Ted Baker
Ted Baker is a British high-street clothing retail company known for suits, shirts, and dresses. It was founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland. The company is owned by Authentic Brands Group, after its £211 million acquisition in October 2022. T ...
. The store is split over 4 levels, with Menswear on the lower ground floor, the Beauty Hall and Accessories Hall on the Ground Floor, the Designer Rooms and Shoe Rooms on Level 1, Womenswear and Lingerie on Level 2 and the Living Department and the Children's Rooms on Level 3.
Other store information
The stores appeal to a wide audience, selling both
prêt-à-porter and
haute couture clothing and accessories. The downstairs menswear section of the Dublin branch has been recently renovated. Ralph Lauren, Gant, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada are some of the brands that can be found in the new men's 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-belt 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, which it launched in 1995, located in
Blanchardstown Shopping Centre
The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's largest shopping centres, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies in the administration of Fingal County ...
. The
Dundrum Town Centre
Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 169 tenants, almost of floor space, and over 3,400 car parking spaces. It is located just south of the village ...
outlet closed in February 2022. There was previously a store on
Grafton Street however this branch closed on 29 August 2016 with the premises now occupied by
Victoria's Secret. These stores have more mass-market clothes aimed at the 18-35 market, such as
Victoria Beckham,
Acne Studios
Acne Studios is a multidisciplinary luxury fashion house based in Stockholm, Sweden that specializes in men's and women's ready-to-wear fashion, footwear, accessories and denim. When founded in 1996, the label derived its name from the creative col ...
,
Helmut Lang Helmut Lang may refer to:
* Helmut Lang (artist) (born 1956), Austrian-born fashion designer and artist
* Helmut Lang (athlete) (born 1940), Austrian Olympic sprinter
* Helmut Lang (fashion brand)
The Helmut Lang fashion brand was created by ...
and COS. BT2 also sells a wide range of cosmetics.
Paris Hilton chose BT2 as the launch site of her perfume ''Heiress by Paris Hilton''.
Stores
*
Dublin - 12,000 m²
*
Dundrum - 5,700 m²
*
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
- 5,300 m²
*
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
- 4,000 m²
*
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
- 1,600 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.
References
3(see section 4, factual background)
4
Further reading
Brown Thomas website*
ttp://www.showbizireland.com/news/july06/11-nylon01.shtml Visitby
Nylon (band)Breast Cancer campaign launched in storeEuromonitorLists Brown Thomas as 8th leading retailer in 2003
*
Haverty, Anne (1995), ''Elegant Times'', Dublin:Sonas:{{ISBN, 1-899565-01-9
Retail companies established in 1848
Department stores of Ireland
Weston family
Shops in Dublin (city)
1848 establishments in Ireland