Ward White
Manufacturer of industrial footwear, then changed direction
1972 John White Footwear acquired George Ward Holdings, forming one of the largest footwear manufacturers in Western Europe[1]. Mr John White was unhappy the name of the company would change to Ward White Group and won a battle to retain the John White trademark, even though he had retired.
1973 Acquired G. B. Britton and Sons[2]
1977 Also had an engineering division[3]
1978 Acquired another footwear maker, Betts and Broughton[4]
1982 Acquired Joseph Frisby, shoe retailer, which would be merged with the Wyles chain[5]
1984 Ward White acquired the Halfords chain of auto-parts suppliers[6]
1985 Acquired Owen Owen department stores[7].
1985 Acquired Maynards but sold the confectionery business[8] and other properties, leaving the 80 Zodiac toy shops[9]
1986 Acquired Payless DIY chain[10]
1986 Acquired LCP Holdings, which owned the Whitlock chain of auto-parts stores in USA[11]
1987 Sold its Focus footwear shops: 161 to Allebone and Sons and 133 to C. and J. Clark[12]
1987 Sold the LCP Construction business (Hickman Buildings and Civil Engineering, and Boswell (Contractors)) to its management[13]
1988 Sold its US chain of footwear stores and planned to sell the Zodiac toy stores[14]
1988 A new company called the UK Shoe Group is to be formed by the selling off of Ward White's Footwear and Safety Division. The deal means Ward White has finally severed its ...[15]
1988 Acquired A. G. Stanley, chain of DIY shops[16]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times Nov. 6, 1972
- ↑ The Times Jul 4 1974
- ↑ The Times Sept. 24, 1977
- ↑ The Times Apr. 7, 1978
- ↑ The Times Oct. 28, 1982
- ↑ The Times Nov. 1, 1984
- ↑ The Times 29 Oct 1985
- ↑ The Times Dec. 20, 1985
- ↑ The Times May 5, 1986
- ↑ The Times Mar. 8, 1986
- ↑ The Times Dec. 19, 1986
- ↑ The Times May 13, 1987
- ↑ The Times Oct. 10, 1987
- ↑ The Times Feb. 2, 1988
- ↑ Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph 01 June 1988
- ↑ The Times June 2, 1988
- ↑ The Times Aug. 21, 1989