Fenwick

A Newcastle-founded department store group with shops across England, known for fashion, beauty and its much-loved Christmas windows.

About Fenwick

Fenwick is a group of department stores that sells fashion, beauty, fragrance, homeware and gifts. It calls itself the largest family-owned group of luxury department stores in the UK, a claim reported by Country & Town House in 2024. Its beauty halls stock big names such as Chanel alongside founder-led niche brands, and the company says shoppers value trusted advice from experts in store. It also sells online, and in 2023 it ran its first advertising campaign, called "Quiet No More".

John James Fenwick started the business in 1882 in Newcastle upon Tyne, first as a mantle maker and furrier at 5 Northumberland Street. His eldest son Fred joined in 1890, trained in Paris, and was reportedly inspired by Le Bon Marché. The firm opened a London branch on Bond Street in 1891, which was described as the first fashion shop on that street. The company's words for what it stands for are luxury and quality, personal service, hospitality and community, and it calls itself "style pioneers since 1882".

Fenwick's UK footprint, as at January 2024, was eight shops: Newcastle (the flagship and head office), Bracknell, Brent Cross in London, Canterbury, Colchester, Kingston upon Thames, Royal Tunbridge Wells and York. The Bond Street shop was due to close in 2024 after 133 years. The Newcastle store is known for its Christmas windows, which have shown detailed sets and moving figures since 1971, and a 2020 BBC report said 250,000 people watched the display online. In December 2023 Fenwick began a multi-year partnership with Newcastle United FC.

On culture, the family-run background shapes how the company describes itself. The last family members left the board in October 2017, but the business was still family-owned as at 2022, and Simon Calver became chair in 2021 and John Edgar chief executive in 2020. Hazel Ayers, the beauty buying and merchandising director, told Country & Town House that "nothing is too much trouble" in serving customers. We found no published staff numbers or staff survey, so we can only report the company's own descriptions.

A department store group needs buyers for fashion and beauty, beauty advisers and makeup artists, personal stylists, visual merchandisers who build the window displays, events and marketing teams, e-commerce and delivery staff, and store managers, finance and stock teams. With its head office in Newcastle and stores from York to Kent, Fenwick offers retail and buying careers outside London as well as in it.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Womenswear, menswear and accessories from luxury and contemporary brands.', 'title': 'Fashion and accessories'}
• {'desc': 'Makeup, skincare and fragrance with expert advisers and brand events.', 'title': 'Beauty and fragrance'}
• {'desc': 'Homeware, gifts and seasonal displays including Christmas windows.', 'title': 'Home and gifts'}

Key facts

• Founded 1882 by John James Fenwick on Northumberland Street, Newcastle
• Eight UK stores as at January 2024, from Newcastle to Tunbridge Wells; Bond Street branch (1891) due to close in 2024
• Christmas window displays in Newcastle since 1971
• Described itself as the largest family-owned group of luxury department stores in the UK (2024 press)

Website: www.fenwick.co.uk