Lewis's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lewis's was a department store group operating in the United Kingdom from 1856 to the 1990s. Only the original Liverpool store continues to trade under the 'Lewis's' name. The company should not be confused with the still existing and totally separate department store chain John Lewis.
[edit] History
The first Lewis's was opened in 1856 in Liverpool, England by David Lewis, as a men's and boy's clothing store, mostly manufacturing his own stock. In 1864 Lewis's branched out into women's clothing. In the 1870s the store expanded and added departments, including shoes in 1874 and tobacco in 1879.
The first Lewis's outside of Liverpool opened in nearby Manchester in 1877, and then spread to Birmingham in 1885. A fourth store opened in Sheffield in 1884 but failed to be profitable and was closed in 1888.
Louis Cohen took over the business after Lewis's death, and oversaw a period of consolidation for the business.
After Louis Cohen's death, control passed to Harold and Rex Cohen, who took the company public in 1924. New stores were once again opened, in Glasgow (1929), Leeds (1932), Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent (1934) and Leicester in 1936.
In 1951 the Lewis's group purchased the famous London department store Selfridges and later became part of the Sears Group headed by Charles Clore.
A branch was opened on Blackpool promenade, next to Blackpool Tower, in 1964. The building had a distinctive 1960s design, with a turquoise tiled exterior. It closed in 1994.
The company is now defunct due to going into administration in 1991 with Owen Owen buying up several branches. The Leicester branch traded independently for a short while, following a management-buyout, as 'Lewis's of Leicester', before finally closing.
The only store continuing to trade as Lewis's is the Liverpool outlet, following the closure of the Manchester branch in 2001.
[edit] Popular Culture
The statue above the main entrance to the Liverpool flagship store is a well-known local meeting place and was immortalised in the 1962 anthemic song "In My Liverpool Home" by Peter McGovern:
- "We speak with an accent exceeding rare,
- Meet under a statue exceedingly bare"
