Jenners
Template:Short descriptionTemplate:About-confuse2 {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Coord Jenners was a department store in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on Princes Street. It was Scotland's oldest independent department store until the retail business was acquired by House of Fraser in 2005.<ref name="Bowers">Template:Citation</ref> It closed in December 2020 and was vacated by House of Fraser in May 2021. The building is currently undergoing restoration to be repurposed as a hotel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bbc-20240213" />
HistoryEdit
Jenners was founded as "Kennington & Jenner" in 1838 by Charles Jenner FRSE (1810–1893), a linen draper,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Charles Kennington. The store has never left its site on Princes Street, but its original building was destroyed by fire in 1892. In 1893 the Scottish architect William Hamilton Beattie was appointed to design a replacement, which subsequently opened in 1895.<ref name="edinburgharchitecture">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is now a category A listed building.<ref name="hse">Template:Historic Environment Scotland</ref>
Jenners was run for many years by the Douglas Miller family, descendants of James Kennedy, who took charge of the store after Charles Jenner retired in 1881.<ref name="Bowers"/> Known as the "Harrods of the North",<ref>Harrods of the North enters new era with House of Fraser deal, The Scotsman, 20 March 2005</ref> it has held a Royal Warrant since 1911, and was visited by Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of its 150th anniversary in 1988.
Sale to House of FraserEdit
On 16 March 2005 it was announced that the Douglas Miller family were in advanced negotiations to sell the business to the House of Fraser, at an estimated price of £100–200 million,Template:Citation needed but a month later it was sold for £46.1 million.<ref name="Bowers"/> While other acquisitions by House of Fraser had been renamed, Jenners kept its identity.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The store made national news in 2007 when it publicly announced that it would stop selling paté de foie gras, following a boycott by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton.<ref>Jenners 'ethical' foie gras ban BBC News Friday, 8 June 2007</ref> In 2008, House of Fraser invested £3 million in improvements to the store.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> As a result of this, in 2016 the basement toy department was rebranded under the Hamleys name, before being closed in 2019.
The lease of the building remained with the Jenners holding company JPSE Ltd, owned by the Douglas Miller family. In August 2005 it was sold to Moorcroft Capital Management, owned by Jenners' former chief executive Robbie Douglas Miller.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017 the building was bought by Danish billionaire fashion retailer and landowner in Scotland Anders Holch Povlsen, reportedly for £53 million.<ref name=Metro>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In late 2019 it was reported that the business was considering reducing its size or moving from Princes Street.<ref name=Metro/>
Department store closureEdit
In January 2021, it was announced that Jenners was closing and 200 jobs would be lost.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Jenners signage was removed from the Princes Street building on 14 April 2021, reportedly to the surprise of the owners of the building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Edinburgh City Council issued a Listed Building enforcement notice on 21 April 2021 to Sports Direct Retail, the Mike Ashley company that owns the Frasers Group, to reinstate the Jenners letters on the eastern and southern sides of the department store, as these had been removed without listed building consent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In May 2021, it was announced that the restoration of the building will take four years, and that the store was planned to reopen without the House of Fraser livery once redevelopment had completed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Proposed hotel conversionEdit
In June 2022, AAA United, the company owned by Anders Holch Povlsen, was granted planning permission to convert the building to a 96-room hotel. Under the plans, the three-storey central atrium would be retained, as would the Jenners signage. The hotel rooms would occupy the upper floors, with new retail use, restaurants and cafés at the lower levels, and a new roof-top bar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023 fireEdit
On 23 January 2023, a fire broke out at the rear of the empty building. Five firefighters were injured, one of whom, 38-year old Barry Martin, was critically injured and died four days later. Eyewitnesses described smoke pouring out of the basement area of the department store.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ArchitectureEdit
The present Jenners building in Edinburgh was designed in 1893 by William Hamilton Beattie in an ornate, early Renaissance Revival style, embellished with a variety of columns, ornamental cornices and decorative balustrading. The building is situated on a slope, with six storeys and an attic level; on the south-east corner is a canted 7-storey tower. At Charles Jenner's insistence the building's facade was decorated with rows of female caryatids "to show symbolically that women are the support of the house". The new store featured many technical innovations such as electric lighting and hydraulic lifts,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1903, the store was extended northwards towards Rose Street by Beattie's partner, Andrew Robb Scott, in a style matching Beattie's original design. A further extension was added to the west along Princes Street by Tarbolton & Ochterlony in 1955. The Jenners building is especially noted for its grand saloon hall, with consoled wooden galleries rising three storeys with an elaborate strapwork timber stair, and topped with a glass and queen-post timber roof.<ref name="hse" /><ref name="edinburgharchitecture" /> Each winter, a large Christmas tree erected in the grand hall became a popular annual visitor attraction.<ref name="bbc-20240213">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1970s, the Jenners store was designated a category A listed building by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.<ref name="hse" />
- Architectural details
- Bas-relief of a classical female nude with a shield with the date of the establishment of Jenners. Door pediment over main entrance, bay three, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Classical female nude holding a shield with the date of the establishment of Jenners, door pediment, main entrance, Princes Street façade
- Jenners entrance with locked gates.jpg
The main entrance in Princes Street
- Rooftop detail, Jenners Department Store, Princes Street, Edinburgh.JPG
Caryatids on the store's rooftop
- Caryatid (left), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (left), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade
- Caryatid (centre left), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (centre left), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade
- Caryatid (centre right), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (centre right), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade
- Caryatid (right), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (right), pediment over two left bays, Princes Street façade
- Magasin Jenners Édimbourg 6.jpg
Detail of the corner tower
- Jenners 2 (5797898110).jpg
The famous Jenners signage
- Two pairs of caryatids flanking first floor window, bay five, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Two pairs of caryatids flanking first floor window, bay five, Princes Street façade
- Left pair of caryatids, one, with harp, representing Ireland; first floor, bay five, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Left pair of caryatids, one, with harp, representing Ireland; first floor, bay five, Princes Street façade
- Right pair of caryatids, one in armour and tunic with fleur de lys, representing France (Joan of Arc), first floor, bay five, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Right pair of caryatids, one in armour and tunic with fleur de lys, representing France (Joan of Arc), first floor, bay five, Princes Street façade
- Pair of semi-nude female figures in niches flanking balustrade and window, floor 5, bay 5, Princes Street façade & Tower façade at corner of South St David Street, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Pair of semi-nude female figures in niches flanking balustrade and window, floor 5, bay 5, Princes Street façade & Tower façade at corner of South St David Street
- Semi-nude female figure holding an urn over her shoulder, floor 5, bay 5, Princes Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Semi-nude female figure holding an urn over her shoulder, floor 5, bay 5, Princes Street façade
- Semi-nude female figure holding roses over her shoulder, floor 5, Tower façade at corner of Princes Street and South St David Street, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Semi-nude female figure holding roses over her shoulder, floor 5, Tower façade at corner of Princes Street and South St David Street
- Three caryatids flanking windows and supporting pediment over bay 4, South Saint David Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Three caryatids supporting pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade
- Caryatid (left), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (left), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade
- Caryatid (centre), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (centre), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade
- Caryatid (right), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade, Jenners, Edinburgh. Photo, Jamie Mulherron.jpg
Caryatid (right), pediment over Bay 4, South Saint David Street façade
- The Jenners building, Edinburgh (42069013002).jpg
South Saint David Street facade
- Edinburgh House of Fraser (49254182681).jpg
The Jenners grand hall
- Jenners department store, Edinburgh, Christmas tree in the Great Hall.jpg
The Christmas tree in the grand hall
- Royal Warrant - Jenners in Edinburgh - 2004-10-22.jpg
The Royal Warrant
StoresEdit
Jenners had two shops in 2020:
- Princes Street, Edinburgh
- Loch Lomond Shores
The Jenners store in the Loch Lomond Shores outlet in Balloch remains in operation<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but as a dual Frasers and Sports Direct store, branding from Jenners practically absent.
Jenners previously had stores at Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow International Airport that closed following a decision announced in April 2007. Jenners said that security measures introduced in UK airports following the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot had led to a significant downturn in trade at the shops.<ref>"Jenners closes Edinburgh and Glasgow airport shops" Template:Webarchive, UK Airport News, 22 April 2007</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Commons category-inline
Template:UK Department storesTemplate:Commercial buildings in Edinburgh