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History

  • Gordon Selfridge

    1858

    A baby boy named Harry Gordon Selfridge is born in Wisconsin, USA in 1858

  • 1906 Selfridges

    1906

    At the grand old age of 48, Gordon Selfridge retires after buying Schlesinger & Mayer department store for $5m and selling it on 3 months later. He moved to London the following year.

  • 1909 Selfridges

    1909

    Gordon Selfridge decides he's too young to retire, and on 15th March opens a £400,000 store in London, which was to put Oxford Street on the world retail map.

  • 1920 Selfridges

    1920s

    The years following the First World War prove very successful and by 1928 the store has doubled in size.

  • 1930 Selfridges

    1930s

    In October 1939 Gordon Selfridge resigns as chairman to become president and is replaced by Andrew Holmes who joined the board in 1935.

  • 1940 Selfridges

    1940s

    The Second World War years prove a very lean time for the store. In 1947 Gordon Selfridge dies in his sleep.

  • 1950 Selfridges

    1950s

    At the beginning of the decade, Gordon Selfridge's old rival Lord Woolton, chairman of Lewis', buys the store for £3.4m.

  • 1960 Selfridges

    1960s

    The store changes hands again, with Charles Clore's British Shoe Corporation buying a controlling interest in Lewis' in 1965 for £63m. The following year Miss Selfridges opens for young women.

  • 1970 Selfridges

    1970s

    The Selfridges Hotel opens and the store is damaged by an IRA car bomb at 9.06pm on December 19. Luckily only five people are hurt, receiving minor injuries.

  • 1980 Selfridges

    1980s

    Tim Daniels, previously the merchandise director, takes over as managing director.

  • 1990 Selfridges

    1990s

    The Masterplan to totally transform Selfridges is launched in 1994 and in 1996 Vittorio Radice is appointed as Chief Executive. A brand new Selfridges opens up in Trafford Park in Manchester.

  • 2000 Selfridges

    THE PRESENT

    In 2003, Galen Weston purchased Selfridges. Mr Weston and his wife, Hilary, are intimately involved with the development and growth of this important company.

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