Department store Fenwick has announced it will close its 130-year-old store on New Bond Street in central London. The store, along with the adjoining property, has been sold to Lazari Investments and will shut in 2024.
Department store retailer Fenwick has confirmed that it has no intentions of closing stores, despite restructuring experts assisting the business. The Newcastle-based firm has experienced losses in recent years and is currently changing the hosting of its website as part of cost-cutting measures.
Fenwick has occupied the site since 1891 – over 130 years – but announced way back at the end of 2022 that it would be closing. And now Fenwick Bond Street has an official closing date. The department store will shut for good on Saturday, February 3.
It was founded in 1882 by John James Fenwick in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently has nine branches. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1988 to 2010. As of 2022, the chain is still owned by members of the Fenwick family.
Fenwick's Department Store traded at 63 New Bond Street since 1882. The Fenwick family announced in December 2022 that they had sold the site to Lazari Investments and closed the store in Q1 2024. Lazari Investments Ltd is one of three UK business groups owned directly or beneficially by the Lazari family.
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We have 8 stores across the UK, differing in size and offering, specific to their local community. These stores are supported by our distribution centre, ensuring our fabulous product reaches our customers at the right time. Restaurants are another key focus for Fenwick and a strong growth area in our business.
Debenhams, founded as a single store in London in 1778, disappeared from the high street in 2021 after Boohoo bought the brand, but not its shops, shortly after the department store chain collapsed.
Family-owned Fenwick's recent results showed a pre-tax loss of £38.1m in the year to January 2024 while sales were down 5.2% to £299m. The department store has made losses for six consecutive years. The retailer's financial struggles led it to sell its Bond Street store for £430m in 2022.
US business Authentic Brands Group, which owns the intellectual property to Ted Baker, had been discussing the future of the brand with partners. However, Sky News reports that the potential future over a licensing partnership have stalled, and as a result all of the stores under the Ted Baker name will close.
The Fenwicks were an established family of bankers in Northumberland during the nineteenth century. Herbert's grandfather, George (1811-1882, shown right) was a senior partner in Lambton's Bank and also had interests in hunting and was a director of the North Eastern railway.
Fenwick, which has occupied the New Bond Street site since 1891, closed earlier this year. When the building's sale was announced in 2022, Fenwick's chairman Simon Calver said it had "been a difficult decision for the Fenwick family".
Fenwick has today announced Nigel Blow, currently CEO at London-based department store chain Morleys, as its new Chief Executive Officer - effective from October 2024. Current Fenwick CEO John Edgar is leaving the business after four and a half years at the helm.
The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, but in 2001 was purchased by the private Fenwick group. The Kingston upon Thames store continued to trade under the Bentalls name until 2023, when it was renamed Fenwick.
Classic high street department stores, M&S, John Lewis and Fenwick all have branches here, offering clothing, homeware and beauty to suit all tastes. You'll also find footwear including brands such as Skechers and Timberland, desirable Apple technology, books from Waterstones and much more.
The Fenwick's have a family fortune of £491m, down £35m from last year and giving the family a national rank of 279th place. The Sunday Times Rich List compiles the 350 richest people and families in the UK.
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Boohoo's rebrand follows a huge fall from grace. It had been among the big winners in the online fast fashion revolution - but it's worth around £340m today, down from a peak above £5bn. Boohoo, the struggling online fashion retailer, has renamed itself Debenhams Group.
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