Fenwick is an independent chain of department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1882 by John James Fenwick in Newcastle upon Tyne, and today consists of nine branches. As of 2019, the chain is still owned by members of the Fenwick family. The company was chaired by Mark Fenwick until 2017. In 2012, the company was reported to be valued at £452million.
History
The store's founder, John James Fenwick, was born in Richmond, North Yorkshire in 1846. The original store opened in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1882 and sold only mantles, silk goods, dresses, fabrics and trimmings and did not broaden into a department store until John's eldest son Fred Fenwick joined the business in 1890. Fred had trained in retail in Paris and is said to have been inspired by Le Bon Marché, which is regarded as one of the first ever department stores. Fenwick has since expanded its operations. In 1888, it opened a store in Sunderland, but it closed within the year. In 1891, it opened a branch in Bond Street, London. This store was later doubled in size in 1980. The company bought the Joseph Johnson store in Leicester in 1962, which was subsequently rebranded as Fenwick. Fenwick was an anchor department store for the 1976 opening of Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London, which was the first large out-of-town shopping centre in the UK. A further store was opened in Oxford on the site of the F Cape & Co department store in 1978. Outlets in Windsor and York followed in 1980 and 1984 respectively, with a limited range of departments, specialising in clothing, fashion accessories and cosmetics. The Ricemans store in Canterbury was acquired in 1986, and rebranded Fenwick in 2003. The Tunbridge Wells store opened in 1992 as part of the Royal Victoria Place development. In 2001, Fenwick acquired the Bentalls group of department stores for £70.8 million, with stores in Kingston upon Thames, Worthing, Ealing, Bracknell, Tonbridge and Lakeside. The Lakeside store was closed, and three branches were subsequently sold to J E Beale, with Fenwick retaining only the stores in Kingston upon Thames and Bracknell. In 2007, Fenwick purchased Williams & Griffin, an independent department store in Colchester, Essex; this continued to trade under the Williams & Griffin name until a 2016 refurbishment, after which it adopted the Fenwick identity. On 5 January 2017, Mark Fenwick announced that the historic Leicester store was to close. The store closed inJune 2017. In April 2017, Fenwick announced plans to close their Windsor store. The store closed in August 2017. Bentalls in Bracknell closed in 2017 with the opening of a new Fenwick store in the town.
Current operations
Fenwick has its headquarters at the original Fenwick department store in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The company operates nine outlets across England : Newcastle upon Tyne, Bond Street in London, Bracknell, Brent CrossShopping Centre in London, Canterbury, Colchester, Kingston upon Thames, Royal Tunbridge Wells and York.
Fenwick Newcastle
The original store in the group occupies a large site in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The store has expanded many times since its foundation in 1882 and now consists of several interconnected buildings with entrances onto Northumberland Street, Eldon Square, Monument Metro Station and Blackett Street. Fenwick offers a wide range of goods and services with a focus on premium and luxury products. It is one of few department stores in the UK to retain a food hall. This was refurbished in 2015. The store is known locally for its extravagant Christmas window displays, filled with detailed sets and sophisticated moving figures, which have appeared since 1971. Affectionate and nostalgic portrayals of the Fenwick Newcastle store appear in three historical novels by the British writer Roger Harvey: Room for Love, Maiden Voyage and Room for Me.
