A BRITISH department store chain is returning to the UK after being dropped 25 years ago.
It first opened its doors in Birmingham in 1881 and became part of the Harrods group in 1955.
It first opened its doors in Birmingham in 1881 and became part of the Harrods group in 1955 then was taken over by House of Fraser[/caption]
A British department store chain is returning to the UK after being dropped 25 years ago[/caption]
In 2000 Rackhams department store was retired and replaced by House of Fraser after it was purchased by the company in 1959.
But now the luxury department store is returning under new ownership to the UK as an online only shopping experience.
The independently-owned retailer says shoppers will find a mix of designer brands, boutique labels and everyday essentials across fashion, beauty, home and garden.
The company also offers free delivery on every order that’s placed online.
Rackhams CEO Mark Jordan said: “At Rackhams, our marketplace-first approach is not a side project — it is the business.
“Because of that, we put equal weight on the experience for both our customers and our partners.
“Unlike bolt-on marketplaces, which rarely command the time and resources needed to deliver real pre- and post-sales support, we are built from the ground up to make that support central.
“That’s why we can promise an exceptional experience at every stage.
“Having previously built an online retail business to more than £100 million in annual turnover, I wanted to take those lessons in scaling and apply them to a new kind of department store.”
Rackhams sales director Will Spencer added: “Since our soft launch we’ve been delighted with the momentum Rackhams has built.
“We’ve already welcomed over 600 partners and shipped tens of thousands of orders in less than a year, and we fully expect this growth to accelerate as we increase our presence within the market.”
The high street retailers shutting shops in October
High streets are facing another huge blow next month as a further eight shops close down for good.
The retail sector has struggled in recent years with increased costs, lower footfall and decreased customer spending.
Discount chain Poundland is shutting its Liscard, Tenby, Livingston and Lowestoft stores in October.
Another major name set to shut one of its stores is The Original Factory Shop.
The discount retailer will be closing its Inverness store on Academy Street on October 12.
Huge sports retailer Sports Direct is also shutting one of its stores next month.
The Rhyl store in North Wales will be pulling the shutters down permanently in October but an exact closure date has not yet been confirmed.
Outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Trespass will close its Watford store on October 31.
Well-known Norfolk business Jarrolds is set to close its nearby furniture shop, The Granary, next month.
Jarrolds is best known for its Norwich city centre department store.
An exact closure date has not been given but it’s expected to shut in mid-October.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
