The acquisition of Lance and Lance, 1933

The provincial experiment gets underway

Lance and Lance was a department store located in Weston-super-Mare. Its pre-Partnership history identifies the store as pillar of the local community. When the opportunity arose in 1933 to purchase the store, Spedan Lewis took the opportunity. In that same year, Knight and Lee and Jessops were also purchased by the Partnership. The experiment to spread the Partnership influence far and wide of London was officially underway.

Prominent shop

The size of the shop was comparable to that of the first floor of Peter Jones in Chelsea, and its business was similar to that of Jessops of Nottingham. The shop’s speciality was in high-value clothing but it was the shop’s prominence within the town that attracted the Partnership. Lance and Lance was a family business with a strong local following. Significantly, it was also the largest business in Weston-super-Mare.

Personal links to Weston?

It is unclear whether there was any personal reason for the purchase of a shop in Weston-super-Mare, but there is a possibility that Spedan could have spent time there recovering, following his serious horse-riding accident in 1909. If you have any more information on this, please let us know.