The rise and fall of British Home Stores

BHS has been unable to compete with against cheaper rivals in recent years

As BHS closes its final stores close, ending 88 years of British retail history, here is a timeline of key moments charting the rise and fall of the very British department store.

  • 1928: British Home Stores is set up in a store in Brixton, south London. None of the goods for sale cost more than a shilling.

  • 1929: Prices rise to a five shilling maximum as home furnishings are introduced.

  • 1969: The brand has 94 UK stores and around 12,000 workers after constant expansion since WW2.

  • 1987: The chain is rebranded as BHS following a merger with Habitat and Mothercare.

  • 2000: Sir Philip Green buys British Home Stores for £200 million. It is rebranded as BHS.

Sir Philip Green owned BHS for 15 years before selling it for a £1. Credit: PA

  • 2005: The shop begins to lose pace against cheaper rivals such Primark.

  • 2013: BHS has 188 stores across the UK

  • 2014: BHS makes a cash loss of £21m in the year to August 2014, compared with £19.3m in the previous year.

  • 2015: Sir Philip sells BHS to Retail Acquisitions, led by former bankrupt Dominic Chappell, for £1. Work begins on a turnaround plan to try to bring it back into profitability.

A campaign to save the department store was launched but failed. Credit: PA

  • March 2016: The store is thrown a lifeline when creditors back two company voluntary arrangements designed to cut costs and prevent widespread store closures

  • April 2016: BHS collapses into administration, sparking an investigation by MPs into Sir Philip and Mr Chappell.

  • June 2016: Administrators fail to find a buyer for the firm and decide to wind the company down

  • July 2016: It is announced that all 164 BHS stores will be closed down.

BHS will disappear from Britain's high streets. Credit: PA

  • August 13, 2016: Flagship Oxford Street branch closes for the final time.

  • August 25: Dominic Chappell tells ITV News his 'conscience is clear' after being labelled as "incompetent and self-serving" and a "chancer" by MPs.