British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, was a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to expand into furniture, electronics, entertainment, convenience groceries and fragrance and beauty products. The company was founded in 1928 by a group of U.S. entrepreneurs, and had a total of 163 stores mainly located in high streets or shopping centres by the time of its closure in 2016, as well as 74 international stores across 18 separate territories. BHS was previously a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but was bought by Sir Philip Green in 2000 and taken private. The company became part of Green's Arcadia Group in 2009. Following a number of loss-making years, the company was sold to the consortium Retail Acquisitions Ltd led by the serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell, in March 2015 for the nominal price of £1. In April 2016, 13 months after the purchase by Retail Acquisitions, the company entered administration following unsuccessful attempts to continue trading. It was eventually wound down, and all stores were closed by late August 2016 following failed attempts to find a buyer. The overseas franchises and digital business were sold during the administration period to Al Mana Group, who closed down the website in June 2018. History Origins British Home Stores was founded in 1928 by a group of U.S. entrepreneurs who wanted to follow the successful model set by Woolworths. They did not want go into direct competition with Woolworths, so set their highest price at a shilling. The first store opened in Brixton, and by 1929 the price limit had been lifted to five shillings to allow the business to offer more goods. The business expanded by opening further branches, all offering small cafeterias and grocery departments, and in 1933 the business went public. After the war, the business continued to grow, and by the end of the 1960s had 94 stores nationwide. Expansion The company expanded in the 1970s and 1980s, including the opening of stores in the newly developing wave of indoor shopping centres (such as Broadway Shopping Centre and Lakeside Shopping Centre). A joint venture was launched with supermarket retailer Sainsbury's to create hypermarkets using the SavaCentre brand. Sainsbury's took full control of SavaCentre in 1989, and later converted the stores to the Sainsbury's branding. A downturn in business in the