H. Samuel facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | (Liverpool, England) 1862 |
| Founder | Harriet Samuel |
| Headquarters | Imperial Place 3, Maxwell Road, Borehamwood, WD6 1JN |
| Products | Jewellery |
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Number of employees
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17,200 (2008) (Signet Group Results) |
| Parent | Signet Jewelers |
H. Samuel is a popular jewelry store chain. You can find their stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It's part of a bigger group of jewelry stores called the Signet Group.
Contents
A Look Back: H. Samuel's Story
How It All Started
In the middle of the 1800s, two people named Moses and Lewis Samuel had a famous business. They made clocks and worked with silver in Liverpool.
Moses Samuel's daughter-in-law, Harriet Samuel, took over the business. She moved it to Manchester's Market Street. Harriet managed the part of the business that sent items by mail. Soon after, more stores opened in Rochdale and other places in Lancashire. By 1884, the company had special names for its watches, like Acme and Climax.
Growing Across the UK
The very first H. Samuel store opened in Preston in 1890. By the year 1900, H. Samuel had more than 10 stores. By 1914, they had about 50 stores!
To handle all this growth, the company moved its main office. In 1912, they moved to a larger building in Birmingham.
New Leaders and More Stores
After the Second World War, Harriet's grandsons took charge. Gilbert Edgar became the chairman, and Robert Edgar was the vice chairman.
In 1948, the company's shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange. This meant people could buy and sell parts of the company. Gilbert was honored for his public work. He also became a Sheriff of the City of London. The number of H. Samuel stores grew to over 200 across the country.
Big Changes and New Ownership
After Gilbert and Robert passed away in the late 1970s, Robert's son became the chairman. In 1984, H. Samuel bought another company called James Walker Group. This made H. Samuel twice as big in the UK.
In 1986, a company called Ratner's Jewellers bought H. Samuel. Later, in 1992, Ratner's Jewellers had some problems. They changed their name to the Signet Group. Many of the old Ratner's stores then became H. Samuel stores.
In 2005, H. Samuel launched its first website where people could buy jewelry online. In 2008, the company had 17,200 employees. As of February 2015, there were 303 H. Samuel stores.
