Fraser Ltd history

That store had been established in 1790 on London's Oxford Street before moving to its Regent Street location in 1835.

In 1849, Hugh Fraser, who had completed his draper's apprenticeship, joined with partner James Arthur to open their own store, called Arthur & Fraser, in Glasgow's Buchanan Street.

Harrods later went on to take over Rackhams, founded as a drapery shop in Birmingham in 1851 before expanding to become a small, regional chain of department stores.

Founder Henry Charles Harrod sold the business to his son, Charles Digby Harrod, in 1861, who sold the business to an investment group, which changed the store's status to that of limited liability company.

Fraser and Neave founded their first business together, a printing works, in 1865.

In 1883, Fraser and Neave established The Singapore and Straits Aerated Water Company.

On Christmas Day, 1891, leading a team of men and horses, McDougall initiated construction on what was destined to become perhaps his greatest and most overlooked legacy to the Twin Ports shipbuilding industry, a timber graving dock.

Since its inception, Fraser, Ltd. continues to meet the needs of children, youth, and adults. It was established in 1893 as the Florence Crittenton Home for unwed mothers.

The company went public in 1898, changing its name to Fraser & Neave Ltd.

The future Lord Hugh Fraser, representing a new generation of Frasers, was born in 1903 and left school to join the family business.

The company expanded rapidly in the years leading up to World War I, and by 1914 had opened branch offices and production facilities in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Seremban, Ipoh, Penang, Bangkok, and Saigon.

In 1931, the company formed Malayan Breweries Ltd. in a joint venture with The Netherlands' Heineken.

In 1936, the company acquired the Coca-Cola bottling franchise for the Singapore and Malaysian markets.

The acquisition of a second brewery, Archipelago Brewing Company, in 1941 gave the joint venture a second major brand.

In 1945, Eigil and Henry Knudsen purchased the shipyard.

In 1948, Fraser & Neave transferred its Coca-Cola franchise to a newly established subsidiary, Lion Ltd., which went on to develop new carbonated drink brands.

1953: House of Fraser acquires Binns.

In 1955, its Malayan Breweries joint venture acquired South Pacific Brewery of Papua New Guinea, which gave the company a new premium beer label, SP Lager.

In 1959 Fraser & Neave was granted the franchise for another growing soft drink brand, Seven Up.

That operation got underway in 1961, in a joint venture with Beatrice Foods.

After Carnation Milk joined the joint venture in 1966, its name was changed to Premier Milk.

1967: The company begins packaging operations with the establishment of Fraser & Neave Containers.

In 1971, Fraser & Neave secured the franchise for the Fanta soft drink brand and introduced a new brand, Zappel.

In 1974, the joint venture with Beatrice Foods deepened with the launch of the Meadow Gold Label brand of ice cream.

1976: Sir Hugh Fraser sells SUITS (Scottish Universal Investments) to Roland "Tiny" Rowland, giving the South African conglomerate chief a 30 percent stake in House of Fraser.

Shipbuilding was not a passion shared by the younger Fraser and, in 1977, the shipyard passed out of the Fraser hands when the yard was sold to Reuben Johnson & Son.

In 1979, the company acquired a stake in the Singapore branch of Metalbox, filling out its packaging operations with the start of metal container production.

Under new management, the shipyard continued to generate a large volume of work for the area with the conversion of five more lakers to self-unloaders, including three U. S. Steel vessels over the course of one winter in 1981, a feat unrivaled in any shipyard on the Great Lakes.

In 1984, Rowland "parked" his 30 percent of House of Fraser with Egypt's Fayed brothers--or so he thought.

In 1985, the company moved from its previous soft drink and brewery sites, which by then had become prime real estate locations.

In 1986, Premier Milk began production in Singapore as well.

More important, the acquisition of Cold Storage gave Fraser & Neave control of Centrepoint Properties Ltd., an important developer and operator of shopping centers and residential properties set up in 1987.

1988: House of Fraser sells ten of its smaller stores to Sellar Morris Properties.

Another group of medium-sized stores was sold off in 1989 in a £6 million management buyout.

In late June 1990, Fraser Shipyards, Inc., celebrated its 100th anniversary with an open house.

1992: The company forms a 75-25 FN Coca-Cola joint venture with Coca-Cola.

In 1994, Fraser & Neave announced its intention to spend some S$1.2 billion on new developments through the end of the decade; in particular, the company eyed other markets, such as Vietnam and Malaysia.

In 1995, the company agreed to sell its Malaysia operations to Malaya Glass in a deal worth M$965 million.

In 1996, the company brought in a new chief executive, John Coleman, who promptly launched a new strategic review of the company.

Production at that plant began in 1997.

As part of the agreement, however, Fraser & Neave's own stake in Malaya Glass rose to 90 percent initially, before sinking back to 51 percent by 1998.

In 1999, the company decided to end its association with Coca-Cola, selling its 75 percent stake in F&N Coca-Cola to the Coca-Cola Co.

In September 2000, the company bought a store in Bristol from the Bentalls chain, paying £15.6 million.

By 2001, the company had gained 100 percent control of Times Publishing.

The company's sales in 2002 neared S$3.5 billion ($1.9 billion). Fraser & Neave is led by Executive Chairman Michael Fam.

Fraser & Neave, celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2003, is listed on the Singapore stock exchange.

The new stores were expected to open by 2004.

At 1.79 million, demat accounts opened in June fewest since Feb 2021