Beales is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

chain, which currently operates 3 branches, in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Poole and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

. The former flagship store, Beales in Bournemouth, was established as The Fancy Fair by John Elmes Beale in 1881 and was the biggest department store in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. The chain expanded through acquiring other department stores and continued to run two stores branded as Palmers in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft until its closure. The company was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

until its private equity takeover. Beales entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

on 20 January 2020 and finally closed their remaining stores on 18 March 2020. It formerly operated 23 branches before entering administration. However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, reopened the Beales store in Poole in August 2020.

History

Beales was established in 1881 by John Elmes Beale when he opened a store, initially known as a Fancy Fair and Oriental House, on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth, Dorset. The company was run by the Beale family during the 20th century; Bennett Beale took over from his father, then by his John's grandson Frank. Frank Beale trained at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

before returning to lead the company. In the 1980s Nigel Beale, grandson of the company's founder, led the company. Beales claims to be the first department store in the world to feature a live

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

character, dating back to 1885. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the company's Bournemouth store was bombed on 23 May 1943. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. Whitakers, the Bolton department store opened in 1829 was bought by Beales in 1996, with the name changed to Beales in 2011.

Early 21st century expansion

The group acquired the Bentalls department stores in Ealing (closed October 2007),

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...

and

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

from Fenwick in 2002 and closed its

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

store in January 2006. A new Beales store opened in Horsham in September 2006 in premises formerly occupied by

Allders Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom. The original store was established in 1862 in Croydon by Joshua Allder. In the second half of the 20th century, this parent store was developed into a chain of depart ...

. On 4 June 2010, Beales acquired the

Robbs Robbs was a mid-size department store in Hexham, latterly owned by Beales. It was established in 1818 by William Robb a lace trader from Fife and subsequently managed for the next 169 years in an unbroken father to son line for six generation ...

in Hexham from

Vergo Retail Vergo Retail Ltd was a department store business based in Liverpool, England, founded in 2007. Vergo Retail ran 20 shops, consisting of nine department stores, including Lewis's of Liverpool, Robbs of Hexham, Joplings of Sunderland and Der ...

which was in administration, for £250,000. In August 2010, Beales expanded further by acquiring the Westgate Department Store in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

from the

Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia (formerly Waveney) co-operative societies in 1987. The ...

. As of 5 April 2011, Beales acquired 19 additional Westgate stores, securing its long-term future. In May 2012, Beales announced it would be opening an outlet store in the former T.J. Hughes store in

The Mall Maidstone The Mall Maidstone (originally known as The Stoneborough Centre, subsequently Chequers Shopping Centre and then The Mall Chequers) is a covered shopping centre in Maidstone, the county town of Kent. The centre has of floor space, ranking it as ...

. This store closed in June 2013. In addition a branch in

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Ai ...

closed in November 2012, a branch in

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of Cinde ...

closed in July 2013. In summer 2014, the large

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

store closed for re-development of the land by the landlord. In June 2016, a planning application submitted by

AEW UK AEW UK is an affiliate of AEW Global, one of the world’s largest and most established real estate investment managers. AEW UK is a 50:50 joint venture between the AEW UK management team and AEW Global’s European operation, AEW Europe. As at 30 ...

for 76 flats in Bournemouth's Beales store was unanimously rejected after a campaign by locals and the owners of Beales backed by Conor Burns MP. The 65 studio and 11 one bedroom flats with no parking which were described by AEW UK as "an

environmentally sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

approach" which "made the best use of the building" were rejected by councillors as "shabby" and "appalling". On 28 November 2018, Beales bought Palmers. Tony Brown took the company into private ownership in 2018. Beales was a member of Associated Independent Stores (a buying group) which enables Beales to benefit from the cost savings of buying textiles and other non-food goods in bulk.

2020 closure and reopening

Poole - The Dolphin Shopping Centre (geograph 1899363)

Beales, Station Parade, Harrogate (25th February 2013)

On 12 January 2020, Beales warned that the company with 23 stores in the UK could collapse into administration, if a buyer for the business could not be found. On 20 January 2020, Beales formally entered administration, appointing KPMG as the administrators. It was understood that there would be no immediate store closures and Beales stores would continue to trade as normal in the short term. On the same date, the beales.co.uk customer-facing website also went offline. At the time of entering administration, Beales had 23 stores and employed in excess of 1,000 people whose jobs were at risk. On 7 February 2020, it was announced that Beales was closing 12 stores, due to failure to sell the chain as a whole. This included Beales’ flagship store and many other significant locations. On 18 February it was announced that, although negotiations with a number of parties were continuing, the remaining 11 stores would close within the following 8 weeks selling their remaining stock. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

hastened the closure of the remaining Beales stores, with the last stores closing on 18 March and the website going offline shortly afterwards. Beales owed £12.6million, and during a month of closing down sales took £9.6 million in revenue. However, a new company, New Start 2020 Limited, owned by Panther Securities reopened a Beales store in Poole in August 2020. Panther Securities' chairman Andrew Perloff owned Beales for three years previously. The new company hired Beales' former CEO Tony Brown to run the Poole project. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust set up a new ‘health village’ on the second floor of the Beales department store in Poole, in 2022, using material and equipment from decommissioned Nightingale hospitals. This 20,000 sq ft clinic will cover ophthalmology, dermatology, breast screening, and musco-skeletal services.

Locations

Current Locations

(formerly Westgate) (re-opened May 2021) * Poole (

Dolphin Shopping Centre The Dolphin Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Poole, Dorset, England, formerly known as the Arndale Centre. The shopping centre adjoins Poole Bus Station. History and development In 1957 discussions began about creating a covered in shopp ...

) (originally opened 1969 as a Bealesons store) *

(formerly Broadbents & Boothroyds; originally Boothroyds)

Former locations

* Abingdon (formerly Westgate) * Bishop Auckland (formerly Westgate; closed January 2017) *

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

(formerly Westgate) *

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

(formerly E Braggins & Son) *

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

(formerly Whitakers) * Bournemouth (opened 1881 as The Fancy Fair; closed 2020) * Bournemouth, Bealesons (formerly Okeys; closed 1982; site now occupied by The Avenue Shopping Centre) *

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

(formerly Westgate) *

(formerly Westgate; closed July 2013) * Diss (formerly Westgate) * Ealing (formerly Bentalls; closed October 2007) * Fareham (opened 2019 in premises previously occupied by

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

) * Fareham, Beales Boutique (originally Beales for Men; opened 2010) * Great Yarmouth, Palmers; closed 15 March 2020) *

(formerly Westgate; originally Sunwin House; closed 2014; building demolished 2015) * Hexham (formerly

; closed 24 February 2020) * Horsham (formerly

; building now occupied by Dunelm) * Kendal (formerly J R Taylor and originally Musgroves) *

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

(formerly Westgate, previously Sunwin House) * King's Lynn (formerly Westgate; closed 2016) * Lowestoft, Palmers (formerly Chadds) * Lowestoft (formerly Westgate; closed April 2019 when the town's nearby Palmers store became 'part of the Beales family of stores') *

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

, Beales Outlet (formerly a branch of T.J. Hughes; closed June 2013) * Mansfield (formerly Westgate) *

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

(formerly

McEwens McEwens (originally known as James McEwen & Co.) was a department store located in the Scottish city of Perth. Specialising in homeware, it was established in March 1868, and was in business for nearly 150 years. It closed in March 2016, along w ...

) * Redcar (formerly Westgate) *

(formerly Sunwin House and latterly Westgate; closed August 2016) *

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

(formerly Westgate; closed December 2016) *

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, ...

(formerly Westgate) *

(formerly Sunwin House and latterly Westgate; closed November 2012) * Spalding (formerly Westgate) * St Neots (formerly Westgate) *

(formerly Bentalls) *

(formerly Grant Warden; closed January 2006) * Winchester (closed August 2016) *

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

(formerly Westgate) *

(formerly Bentalls) *

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

(formerly Denners)

References

External links

Beales website
{{UK Department stores Companies based in Bournemouth Department stores of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1881 Retail companies established in 1881 Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom British companies disestablished in 2020

History

Early 21st century expansion

2020 closure and reopening

Locations

Current Locations

Former locations

See also

References

External links