Freeman, Hardy and Willis is a major chain of footwear retailers in the United Kingdom between 1875 and 1996. Since 2020, it operates exclusively online.

History

The shoe retailer was established in 1875 and was named after three employees of the company, one of whom was Alfred Freeman, a Russian shoe maker who resided in

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. For many years, there was a branch in nearly every town in the United Kingdom. In 1929 the company was acquired by

Sears plc Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Charles Clore in the 1950s who expanded the company to be one of the lar ...

. Its subsidiary, the

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

-based British Shoe Corporation, went on to own the Trueform, Curtess, Dolcis, Manfield, Saxone, and Lilley & Skinner brands. The name was also simplified to Freeman Hardy Willis in order to have bolder lettering on shopfronts. During the early 1960s the paper bags used to wrap the shoes were imprinted with the FHW letters and the legend "For Happy Walking".

Sale of company

In the early 1990s the British Shoe Corporation converted approximately half of the 540 Freeman Hardy Willis branches into

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shops and sold the remainder to Stephen Hinchliffe, an entrepreneur from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. After only a year, Hinchliffe's business empire collapsed. He was subsequently jailed after it was found that he bribed bank officials to obtain loans to buy the company. After providing "Shoes For All The Family" since 1875, Freeman Hardy Willis was no more by 1996. After closure, 44 former FHW branches were sold to Stead & Simpson. British Shoe Corporation itself closed in 1998. In more recent years, the Freeman Hardy & Willis name has reappeared online, now owned by Gardiner Bros & Co (Leathers) Ltd.

References

External links

* * {{PM20, FID=co/070416, TEXT=Documents and clippings about, NAME= * Online store https://fhwbrands.com/ Companies based in Leicestershire Retail companies established in 1875 Retail companies disestablished in 1996 Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Shoe companies of the United Kingdom Footwear retailers