The roots of Empire Stores mail order company lie in a village off Lake Como in Italy where
Antonio Fattorini was born in 1797.
In 1815 at 18 yrs of age Antonio set off to fight with the British against Napoleon , but before
he would reach Brussels, the battle of Waterloo had been fought and the French army defeated. Instead
of heading back to Italy he decided to try his hand at making his fortune in Britain or as it was then
known 'the workshop of the world'.
Antonio set about looking for work in Dewsbury in the north of England and within 5 years he had set
himself up in business as a travelling packman.
Over the next few years Antonio built his business selling watches, jewellery , looking glasses,
scissors and penknives. Travelling pedlars would attend the local weekly market or annual fare and
were the only way rural communities could buy goods as they had no shops. Pedlars could often make
on the first day of a fair the same as an agricultural worker could make in a year.
However due to the industrial revolution, changes in how ordinary people shopped were coming.
In Liverpool a permanent covered market was developed that benefited from gas lighting and toilet
facilities. It was so successful that other large towns followed suit and in 1827 two markets were
built in Leeds. Antonio rented a stall for 1s 3d selling his usual watches, cheap jewellery and
fancy goods.
By 1830 the Fattorini family had 3 sons and Antonio had moved to a shop in the Bazaar section of
the market and he was selling much better quality jewellery.
Around the same time Marks and Spencer started as the Penny Bazaar in Leeds and Kendal Milne
began in the Manchester Bazzar.
As standards of living improved the market for luxury goods grew and Antonio was able to open
another shop in Harrogate that was eventually left in the capable hands of his eldest son also named
Antonio, he then moved again to Bradford to establish a far larger branch of the business.
Bradford was rapidly expanding as the coal, iron and stone industries grew, with the connection to
the Leeds -Liverpool canal and the railway system. The population had expanded from 6,400 in 1801 to
34,500 in 1831, including the surrounding villages the population was upwards of 70,000 and growing.
Antonio saw the potential for growth in his jewellery business and opened another shop aided by
another of his now 7 sons whilst another son opened a branch in Skipton.
In 1852 another family member joined the business, Antonio's youngest son John who had completed a 5
yrs apprenticeship as a watchmaker. It was John who's ideas led the family into the beginnings of mail order.
John saw the need for working men to have a watch, an item that had prior to the growth of the industrialization
had not been a necessity. With the agreement of the family he formed the first Fattorini Watch Club.
The idea was innovative but simple, a club would be formed where members met in a local pub and over
a period of 50 weeks would pay 6d a week into a common fund, they would have a committee, chairman and
treasurer. When the sum of £1. 5s had been collected there would be a raffle and 1 member would receive
a watch, he then continued to pay his subs for the year and in turn over the year each member would get
their turn to receive a watch.
The combination of a social gathering with the opportunity for lower paid workers to purchase
expensive items over a period of time was a great success and clubs grew rapidly. The range of available
items grew to take in cutlery, clocks, rings, chains, musical instruments and metal tea pots and as some
of the clubs were quite a distance from the shops a catalogue of goods was produced and payment and goods
were exchanged by post.
In 1859 Antonio died at the age of 63, such was the success of his business that Fattorini was a
household name in the West Riding. On his death the business was split into 3 parts, though they all
continued to advertise jointly, by producing one catalogue with 3 distinctive covers. Sons Edward and
John took control of the Bradford business, son Innocent continued at Skipton and son Antonio inherited
the Harrogate business. As the younger Antonio never married it was subsequently left to his sister
Marie Tindall and it remains in Tindall hands today.
A third Antonio, grandson of founding Antonio also became a watchmaker and as he was a keen
sportsman he soon became known all over Britain as a sporting timekeeper, eventually acting in this
capacity at the Olympic Games. With his sporting connections he was able to promote the family business
in designing and producing sporting trophies this led eventually to the Football Association paying
50 guineas (£52.50) for the FA Cup to be made and this is the same trophy played for today.
By 1890 the shop in Harrogate had extended to include household goods such as blankets, sheets,
rugs and mats and this formed the basis of the mail order catalogue eventually including clothing,
footwear, furs, bedsteads, bicycles and piano's.
By 1907 the mail order side of the business had grown so large it was decided a separate company
should be formed, The Northern Trading Company, parent of Empire Stores. The range of goods available
on credit terms became attractive to less well off customers who were used to surviving on around £1. 4s
a week and who had the ability to pay a small regular sum each week to purchase more expensive household
items.
When in 1910 the family decided to apply for The Northern Trading Company to become limited, they
found there was already a company registered with that name, they had to choose another name and the
registrar suggested Empire Stores Ltd. The family agreed and all the shares were taken up by members
of the Fattorini family.
By the turn of the century there were more than 1000 clubs.
Times were hard after the Great War and unemployment was running somewhere between 1 and 3 million,
traditionally families resorted to buying essentials on 'the weekly' and Empire Stores continued to
prosper, the number of agents recruited and catalogues produced continued to rise. Agents received
15% commission, postage was paid by Empire who also took responsibility for bad debts.
Browsing through the catalogues produced in the 1930's gives us a great insight into the realities
of day to day life and the changes lifestyles and leisure activities. Gramophones and Wireless sets
became a more common and a pleasant way to pass time in the evenings.
During World War 2, Empire, like most other retail businesses suffered.
With rationing on the use of paper, the catalogue was reduced to just 50 pages, luxury items all but
disappeared from the range to be substituted by more somber items such as blackout material, portable
cradles for air raid shelters and even trousers for women! Prices were controlled by the government
but as many items were in short supply, soon after a catalogue was produced, items would be sold out.
By 1946 Empire Stores was under the management of Edward Fattorini, who reluctantly moved from
his jewellery shop to manage Empire when his brother Herbert retired early in the war. It was with
much relief that he was able to hand back the keys to the business to his son Joseph, when he returned
from service as a major in the army and return to his jewellery shop.
During his time in the army Joseph had become good friends with his regiments commanding officer
Colonel C.T. (mick)Wells who in his civilian life had worked in marketing with a London advertising
agency. Joseph brought him on board at Empire and as marketing manager he pushed sales figures to
an all time high. Together they set about rebuilding Empire after its decline during the war years.
As employment improved and customers had more disposable income, so they were able to be more
discriminating in their choice of goods. Mail order had to compete with the High Street and as a result,
Empire began to stock famous branded goods.
The fortunes of Empire continued to prosper during the fifties and sixties and inevitably as the company
expanded significant positions within the company were taken up outside of the Fattorini family.
The next major transformation came in 1968 when an IBM computer was installed to cope with the vast
amount of clerical work generated by the expanding business and a major refurbishment of warehousing
took place, installing conveyor systems controlled by computer systems.
Eventually the company began to distribute goods themselves and depots were set up around the country,
as well as reducing costs, the company was protected from the industrial unrest of the seventies that saw
major disruptions to the postal services.
In 1972 Joseph Fattorini stepped down as Chairman to become joint vice chairman with his cousin James.
Mick Wells took over as Chairman.
Mick Wells proved to be an entrepreneur of exceptional ability and many of the practices he developed
continue to this day. In 1955 he instigated the morning post conference, were members of the board and
senior managers meet each morning to read the post from agents, thus keeping up to date with problems
and concerns 'on the ground' as they happen.
As the Fattorini family gradually reduced their shareholding in the business, financial control of the
company was in the hands of City institutions, banks and pension funds.
However the principals of business success for Empire Stores continues to this day, good value for money,
personal service to customers, a progressive outlook and good relationships with staff, many of whom retire
after 25 years service.
Empire Store now has an online presence in line with the huge growth in the internet. Customers can now browse
the whole catalogue online and order electronically 24 hours a day.
Go to
Empire Stores Catalogue at catalogue connection to view the highlights from the current
catalogue, this site also reviews all the home shopping mail order catalouge websites available in the UK.
