David Evans was a small department store group based in South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

with its flagship store located in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Establishment

David Evans & Co was formed in 1900 by a partnership involving a local draper David Evans, Soloman Andrews – a prominent

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

businessman who owned property in Swansea and his son Francis Emile Andrews. The business opened on the site of the old Theatre Royal, in a building owned and built by one of Soloman Andrews' companies and leased to the new business.

Growth

By 1907 the company had purchased the freehold from Soloman Andrews and between 1908 and 1909 extended the store. However the advent of the First World War had seen difficult trading, and David Evans left the business selling his shares to the Andrews family. The business however fared worse during the Second World War, when the building was destroyed by German bombs and the business operated out of rented property until a new building was erected on the site of the former store in 1954. The company however grew after the Second World War, by first buying the old Capitol cinema in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

and turning it into a furniture store in 1948, before buying Port Talbot business W J Williams in 1951 and 10 years later opening a brand new store in the town of

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales. Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...

. In 1958, the Swansea store was expanded and by 1959 included a newly installed Food Hall.

Takeover

In 1977 the business was purchased from the Andrews family by

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 ...

Closure

The Swansea store was closed in 2005 and demolished in 2007, while the Cwmbran store is now home to House of Fraser.

References

{{Reflist Evans David Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Evans David Retail companies established in 1900 1900 establishments in Wales Retail companies disestablished in 2005 2005 disestablishments in Wales