BUSINESS NEWS
MORLEYS LOOKS AHEAD TO A JOLLY FUTURE IN BATH
In March, Bath welcomed the announcement of the reopening of Jolly’ s department store on Milsom Street.
Morleys Stores Ltd will take over the building in 2026, securing the long-term future of the historic, much-loved local brand.
We met with Allan Winstanley, CEO of Morleys Stores Group, to find out more about the plans for the building, the ethos of Morleys and how Allan’ s career path has brought him back to the city – and back to Jolly’ s.
What’ s the latest update on the renovation works? We move into the building next February. The building is owned by Bath and North East Somerset Council and they’ re doing a lot of work- new roofs, a whole rewiring project- so there’ s a ton of essential work that needs to be completed before we can access the site.
When we do get access next February, we’ ll only get access to about 40 % of the space. The plan is for a soft launch during the spring, hopefully by Easter. Then we’ ll trade through six months before we get the rest of the store handed back to us, around October, and aim for a full reopening by mid- November.
It won’ t look much different externally because it’ s a heritage building and we certainly have no intention of changing the brand name.
The interior is largely our responsibility. We’ ll install branded equipment and shop fittings, and add hospitality with restaurants and eateries. It will look familiar to customers but rejuvenated.
Can you tell us about your background and experience?
My entire career has been in retail. I started with Marks & Spencer, where I was for 20 years, working in stores, logistics, and then buying. I left in 1998 and moved to Next as Head of Men’ s Formalwear for three years, then to Moss Bros as a Buying Manager and later Buying Director until 2004.
I then joined House of Fraser as Buying Director. I was there for 10 years, and that’ s where I first encountered Jolly’ s in Bath. I was involved in planning and refurbishment of Jolly’ s in 2012 – 2014.
I then joined Selfridges for three years and spent two years in the US with KMart. For the last six and a half years, I was in Australia with Myer, the largest department store chain there, overseeing a turnaround. I returned to the UK in December and joined Morley’ s in January. Can you give us some background on Morleys Morleys is a family business that’ s been around for over 100 years. Bernard, the current owner, is the third generation of his family to run the business. In fact, it was his greatgrandfather who founded it in the 1920s when he acquired Morleys in Brixton. The business has continued to grow steadily ever since. The focus has always been, and continues to be, on delivering high-quality retailing with a strong focus on local community and high service levels. Why is Morley’ s the right fit for Jolly’ s and Bath? Morley’ s is a privately owned, family-run group of department stores. Most of our stores were previously family-owned, independent department stores and were acquired over the years.
“ We want to restore it to its former glory”
Each store has a different name, which we retain to preserve local identity. That’ s why Jolly’ s fits perfectly- it’ s well-known in Bath and we would never consider changing its name.
We’ re aware of the store’ s recent troubled history. We want to restore it to its former glory and establish a strong, elevated brand position in Bath.
This is what we do best- running localised, communityfocused department stores. Jolly’ s fits our model perfectly. We pride ourselves on high service levels, quality brands and long-term commitment. We believe in community, quality and customer service.
In all of our stores, we make a point of selling local products alongside the international and British brands you’ d expect to find. From a food and gifting perspective especially, we actively support local producers, whether that’ s distillers, vineyards or other artisans, by giving them a platform to sell their goods in our stores.
This is particularly valuable in cities like Bath, where there’ s a strong tourist presence and a real appetite for local, authentic products. We do the same in Wimbledon, where the summer tennis tournament draws a huge crowd, and even in places like Brixton, which has a more edgy and culturally distinct vibe. For example, we stock Brixton Gin and other locally made items so that customers can connect with the spirit of the area. It’ s all about offering an experience that reflects the unique character of each location. When will customers set foot in Jolly’ s again? We plan to open for trade around Easter next year with a partial offer of fashion, beauty and gifts. The full launch is targeted for November, when the rest of the space is handed over. It’ ll be a race to the finish line in time for the peak Christmas season and we’ ll open with a big fanfare.
We’ re planning to temporarily open one of the Milsom Street units as an information centre. It’ ll share the history of Jolly’ s, explain what’ s happening now, and give information about Morley’ s. We want to keep the community engaged throughout the process.
We’ ve retained the original Frasers Group Store Manager, Jess, to act as our local presence and manage co-ordination on-site. She’ ll also be in the visitor centre when it opens.
@ jollysbath
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