House of Fraser

House of Fraser and Frasers are a British department store chain with 29 locations across the United Kingdom, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, and after the Second World War a large number of acquisitions transformed the company into a national chain.

From 1936, the company expanded substantially through acquisitions, including Scottish Drapery Corporation (1952), Binns (1953), Barkers of Kensington (1957), Dickins & Jones and the Harrods group (1959), and J J Allen and Colson's (1969). In 1948, the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange. Later acquisitions included Howells (1972) and Army & Navy Stores (1973).

The group was purchased by the Al Fayed family in 1985 for £615 million, beating out Tiny Rowland for control. By 1993, the management of the group were making attempts to purchase the group from the Al Fayeds, and a floatation was agreed, with the group initially trading separately as House of Fraser Holdings with the Fayed group.

The public float happened in 1995, when it was listed in the FTSE Index as House of Fraser plc, with Harrods moved into the private ownership of the Al Fayeds.

In the 1990s, several stores were closed and fifteen stores transferred to a joint venture with British Land Company, which then continued operating under their old name. The former Harrods group store D H Evans on Oxford Street, London was re-branded as House of Fraser in 2001 and became the chain's flagship store.

In 2005, the group acquired Jenners (£46m), and Beatties (£69m). In 2006, the firm was acquired by a consortium of investors (Highland Group Holdings) including Icelandic based Landsbanki (35%). An online store was launched in 2007. In 2014, the group (as Highland Group Holdings Ltd) was sold to Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store Co. (Sanpower Group), a leading chain of Chinese department stores for approximately £450 million. In May 2018, the group entered a company voluntary arrangement, and in June the closure of 31 stores was announced. On 10 August 2018, Mike Ashley's Sports Direct chain agreed to buy the business (stores, stock, brand) for £90 million after the chain went into administration earlier that day.

In 2021, a new House of Fraser brand opened in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre named Frasers. A brainchild of Frasers Group owner Mike Ashley, this store is the "Harrods of the High Street". The store comprises several Frasers Group brands: Frasers, Sports Direct, FLANNELS, Evans Cycles, GAME and BELONG. Several former House of Fraser stores have been converted to the Frasers format since the opening of its Wolverhampton flagship. In 2023, Frasers launched its own website, frasers.com, after operating out of House of Fraser's website for two years.

In October 2023, Frasers Group CEO Michael Murray said that House of Fraser would completely convert to the Frasers brand over time, and the House of Fraser brand would disappear from the high street.