J J Allen was a small retail group that formed in 1860 in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. The business was incorporated in 1899 by Mr J J Allen as a furniture shop, removal company and funeral directors (which still exist as an independent company). The business expanded to a small chain of department stores, as well the Chanelle and Mayron chain of fashion shops. The expansion included department stores Brights of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

1960, Brights & Colson of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

1960, Cavendish House (

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

) and Morgan Squire

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

1962. In 1961 JJ Allen bought the

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

department store James Howell & Co, but sold it for a substantial profit in 1962 to the Hodge group, managed by Dr Julian Hodge, a Welsh merchant banker. In 1969

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 ...

purchased JJ Allen for £5.3 million. In 1971, House of Fraser purchased another department store group, Dingles group, and JJ Allen's west country stores were transferred to the Dingles division with the rest being transferred to the

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

division. The store was renamed House of Fraser in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, J J Buildings and structures in Bournemouth Companies based in Bournemouth Allen J J Retail companies established in 1860 House of Fraser 1860 establishments in England