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History of Rackhams
In 1851 William Riddell and Henry Wilkinson opened a retail business at 78 Bull Street, Birmingham. Following this, in 1861, the company welcomed two apprentices into its ranks: John Rackham and William Matthews. By 1878, they had risen to the positions of buyers within the company. Subsequently, in 1881, the store was sold to Rackham and Matthews and Rackhams department store was born.
A brand synonymous with luxury high end retail it became part of the Harrods group in 1955, later being purchased by House of Fraser in 1959. At its peak in the 1970's, 80's and 90's the Rackhams brand was selected for 11 department stores across the UK including, Rackhams Birmingham as its flagship store, Bradford, Leicester, Doncaster and Sheffield.
Eventually most Rackhams stores were rebranded to House of Fraser with the Altrincham store being the last to close in 2020.
We estimate today over 5 million people have fond memories of Rackhams and firmly associate the name with high quality and luxurious designer brands.
