British Home Stores opened its doors for the first time in Brixton in 1928. The highest price of any item sold was one shilling. From the very beginning our stores sold lighting and had self-service cafés and food departments. British Home Stores became a public company in 1931.

 

In 1945 we decided price should not be our sole marketing strategy, so introduced a policy of quality and value-for-money that continues today. In 1985 we launched our successful overseas programme with our first franchise store in Gibraltar. Our overseas stores proved very popular and we now have franchises in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. These outlets mirror the appearance of our UK stores and sell most merchandise ranges. They operate under licence from Bhs, and are not directly owned by the company.

 

In 1986 we merged with Habitat/Mothercare to form Storehouse plc. The influence of design had a stronger presence within our merchandise ranges and store design and Bhs replaced British Home Stores as the registered company name, reinforced by a new company logo and corporate image.

 

We continue our commitment to delivering a great shopping experience to our customers, through stylish fashion ranges and homewares at prices that represent outstanding value.