Rosebys was a retail chain, consisting of over 300 soft furnishing stores across the United Kingdom.[1] Rosebys sold bedding, curtains, bathroom textiles, and other products.[2] In September 2008 it was announced that Rosebys had become a victim of the 2008 credit crunch and had been placed into administration.[3]
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Rosebys was founded in Grimsby in 1922 and, following this, expanded into Yorkshire and northeast England. They acquired a number of other companies in the 1980s, including Sherrys, Stapleton Linens, Maytime Linens, and Waldmans, and became a publicly traded company in 1992. They acquired Brentfords, Knightingales, Shallets, Russells and Bond Street Fabrics in 1995, Rexmore in 1996, and Bensons Beds, Fabric Warehouse [4] and Fads/Homestyle in 2000. Following this, the company changed its name to Homestyle Group.[5] Homestyle Group bought the Harveys chain in 2000.[6] Knightingales stores were rebranded as Rosebys in 2002. In 2004, Rosebys and Fabric Warehouse were acquired by Lloyds Development Capital and split into two separate companies.[5] In 2006, Rosebys was acquired by Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., part of the India-based Dalmia Group.[7]
On Friday 26 September 2008, with quarterly rents being due on the following Monday,[8] it was announced that Rosebys had been placed into administration, with the loss of 2,000 jobs. Despite an annual turnover of £100m, the group had become a victim of reduced high street spending with fears that it would be the first of such high street failures.