Barkers of Kensington

Barkers of Kensington was a department store in Kensington High Street, Kensington, London. It began as a small drapery business, John Barker & Company, founded by John Barker and James Whitehead in 1870. Barkers grew rapidly to become one of London's largest and most well-known department stores. The company played a significant role in establishing Kensington High Street as one of London's principal shopping destinations for most of the twentieth century. The business was purchased by House of Fraser in 1957. Barkers closed permanently in 2006. Part of the former flagship building now contains a branch of Whole Foods Market (2019).

In 1870 John Barker and James Whitehead opened a small drapery business at 91–93 Kensington High Street. James Whitehead (a city merchant) was the investor, while John Barker ran the store. John Barker's plan was to start small and grow his business to a full-line department store. He started by dealing direct with manufacturers to get the best price, and with the profits made he started buying up freeholds and leases of nearby properties. By the end of 1870 he had annexed 26–28 Ball Street, setting up millinery and dressmaking departments. By 1871, he had purchased 87 Kensington High Street and opened men's tailoring and children's outfitting departments. Within a year he had again grown by buying his neighbours' businesses at 89 Kensington High Street and 26 Ball Street. By 1880, he had extended his stores at 87–89 Kensington High Street and had bought an ironmongery business at 14–16 Ball Street and added 75–77 Kensington High Street and 12 Ball Street to his premises. By 1892, the business had swallowed up 63–71 Kensington High Street, 2–6 Young Street and 6 Ball Street and now operated over forty two departments and workshops.

In 1894, the business was incorporated with John Barker as the chairman of the board, joined by his brother Francis and H H Johnstone (both established partners in the firm), along with Tresham Gilbey (his son-in-law) and J G Barnes, the former manager of the Kensington branch of Parr's Banking Co. In the same year the business bought Seaman Little & Co, a large competitor, which had divided up the Barker premises. The company at this point had 33 shops, including sixteen fronting onto Kensington High Street. By this time the business had grown to 64 departments selling everything from clothes to groceries. It even had its own drug-dispensing department.

By 1895 the company had purchased every property on the south side of Kensington High Street between King Street and Young Street, except for numbers 73 and 85, which the business would go on to acquire in 1900. New space allowed for the addition of jewellery, watch, and bicycle departments to the ever-growing assortment. In 1907 Barkers bought its near neighbour Ponting Brothers, but continued to run the store as a separate concern. In 1912, the earliest section of the Barkers store was devastated by fire. Temporary premises were located opposite whilst rebuilding was commenced by Barkers' own construction department in 1913. John Barker, the store's founder, died in 1914. He was replaced as chairman by Sidney Skinner, who had worked his way up in the firm after joining in 1889. The First World War devastated the Barkers business and activities were scaled back. After the war, the policy of expansion was resumed with the purchase of neighbouring competitor, Derry & Toms, in 1920. The store was located in between the Barkers and Pontings stores, and again was run as a separate entity. In 1924 the business opened new shops in Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester selling pianos and gramophones, but this venture proved a failure and the provincial branches were shut in 1926. More successful was the 1925 acquisition of Zeet

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