Hugh Fraser (1815 - 1873) was the founder of
House of Fraser
House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...
, now one of the largest retail chains in the United Kingdom.
Career
Born the son of a
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...
farmer, Fraser was apprenticed to ''Stewart & McDonald'', a
drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Late Latin ). It ma ...
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, where he became a manager.
[Glasgow Archive Project]
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In 1849, he formed a partnership with James Arthur, another Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
shop owner, to open a drapery shop in Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street is one of the high street, main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbou ...
in Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
.[ Together they expanded the business developing in particular its wholesale business which Arthur took over completely in 1865.][ Fraser then went into partnership with Alexander McLaren to develop the retail side of the business and expanded it into one of the largest stores in Glasgow.][
Fraser died in 1873 leaving his business to whichever of his five sons decided to take up a share in it: in the end three sons, one of whom was the father of Hugh Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of Allander, did so and the business continued to develop.][
]
References
1815 births
1873 deaths
Scottish company founders
19th-century British businesspeople
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