Queensway (retailer)
Encyclopedia
Queensway was a retailer in the United Kingdom
that specialised in the sale of carpets and furniture
. It was a pioneer of out of town shopping
and one of the first retailers in the U.K. to sell directly to customers from a warehouse.
It was founded in 1967 by Anthony Parish in Norwich with £50. Within a few months Queensway moved to a nearby disused warehouse. Parish's strategy was to sell carpets in the same way supermarkets sell food. The success of this approach enabled the company to rapidly expand to 26 branches in 1970 and by 1975, it had 38 branches across the country.
In the mid-1970s it was due to float with an expected market capitalisation of around £7 million pounds but due to a serious downturn in the economy the float was withdrawn. Management consultants were hired and the company's shares continued to fall. Managing director Anthony Parish by now was suffering from ill health and after a boardroom coup
the company was sold to Phillip Harris in 1977 and it became Harris Queensway plc.
On 20 December 1985, Queensway opened a store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
in the West Midlands
, becoming one of the complex's first tenants and following the trend of big retail names moving to out-of-town outlets which began around this time. Within four years it was part of Europe's largest indoor shopping centre.
In 1988 Harris Queensway was valued at £450 million and the company was sold to become Lowndes Queensway. Lowndes Queensway went bankrupt in 1992 as a result of the downturn in sales brought on by the recession, but later became part of Allied Carpets.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that specialised in the sale of carpets and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
. It was a pioneer of out of town shopping
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
and one of the first retailers in the U.K. to sell directly to customers from a warehouse.
It was founded in 1967 by Anthony Parish in Norwich with £50. Within a few months Queensway moved to a nearby disused warehouse. Parish's strategy was to sell carpets in the same way supermarkets sell food. The success of this approach enabled the company to rapidly expand to 26 branches in 1970 and by 1975, it had 38 branches across the country.
In the mid-1970s it was due to float with an expected market capitalisation of around £7 million pounds but due to a serious downturn in the economy the float was withdrawn. Management consultants were hired and the company's shares continued to fall. Managing director Anthony Parish by now was suffering from ill health and after a boardroom coup
Boardroom coup
A boardroom coup is the sudden overthrow of the management or governing body of a corporation by an individual or small group of individuals, usually from within the company.-Notable examples:...
the company was sold to Phillip Harris in 1977 and it became Harris Queensway plc.
On 20 December 1985, Queensway opened a store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, becoming one of the complex's first tenants and following the trend of big retail names moving to out-of-town outlets which began around this time. Within four years it was part of Europe's largest indoor shopping centre.
In 1988 Harris Queensway was valued at £450 million and the company was sold to become Lowndes Queensway. Lowndes Queensway went bankrupt in 1992 as a result of the downturn in sales brought on by the recession, but later became part of Allied Carpets.