How many selfridges stores are there

The announcement of the auction comes just weeks after his death and sources say he would have been fiercely opposed to the sale. Weston once said 'to be a retailer is an addiction' and often showed up unannounced to inspect the store. The department store was founded by flamboyant businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge in , seeing him dubbed the 'showman of shopping'. The 60, sq ft emporium on Oxford Street is now accompanied by stores in Dublin, Birmingham and Manchester, and Selfridges also owns international high-end chains, Holt Renfrew in Canada and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands.

It has, however, been a challenging year for bricks-and-mortar retail. Nevertheless, the department has remained resilient, investing in online capabilities and setting up impressive initiatives including the Project Earth sustainability campaign, which is committed to changing the way we shop by Most recently, it partnered with Dior on a new rooftop restaurant and began offering on-site weddings.

The Qataris already own Harrods, but would they want a second department store? Lane Crawford, the Chinese department store business based in Hong Kong, is also a rumoured interested party. Register here. They will send out information memoranda — documents used to pitch the target to potential bidders — to begin the process, which could be completed by the end of the year.

It was first reported last month that the retail business could be sold after an unnamed bidder approached the Westons, who own a majority stake in Primark owner Associated British Foods, with a move to buy Selfridges.

The deal was led by W Galen Weston, who died in April aged 80 having stepped down chairman of Selfridges Group two years earlier to make way for his daughter Alannah Weston.

Selfridges has performed strongly in recent years, despite a wider downturn in the department store sector which has seen the collapse of Debenhams and declines at major rivals. Meanwhile, Selfridges has seen a surge in profitability over the past decade as it has been boosted by heavy investment in stores. It will now face the significant challenge of weakened footfall and fewer tourists in key areas, such as Oxford Street.

ES Money. The Escapist.