Bobby’s- Life in a Department store

Posted on 10 February 20224 April 2023 by Emily Powell

By Emily Powell

Bobby’s Department store was established in 1915 in Bournemouth and was regarded as the ‘heart of the town and the community’. With its growth over time, Bobby’s grew into a popular department store aimed at the middle/upper class of society. They had an elegant restaurant, alongside a wide range of women’s clothing as well as a smaller section for children and men. Not only did Bobby’s sell garments, they also sold ‘Drapery and fancy goods’; attracting a wide range of shoppers (mainly appealing to women).

Bobby’s engagement with the public – alike any other department store – varied from that with their staff. Shoppers were highly regarded and treated with the greatest amount of respect and courtesy, addressing them as madam/sir. This created an air of sophistication as well as an expectation for the treatment of customers as well as an expectation of the training and cordiality of the staff.

Seeing as Bournemouth was a well respected area and was majorly a middle/upper class area Bobby’s appealed to its audience with lavish displays of their products. The sophisticated layout of their products opted those window shopping into the store. Their wide variety of styles, materials and colours enticed customers, getting them to spend their disposable income in their stores. Additionally, during the late 20th Century many department stores, including Bobby’s, had layaway payment plans where people would pay a set amount each week towards a product. This allowed those who did not have as much disposable income to slowly purchase a product.

Courtesy of Emily Powell

Due to Bobby’s restaurant as well as lounge which ‘overlooked the sea and gardens’ this implied a further social aspect to the experience of shopping. It meant that customers could purchase products as well as have the means to take a break and continue their shopping after a meal. This aspect of Bobby’s and other department stores appealed to the more upper class shoppers as had the means to spend the whole day shopping and dining out.

For the workers, the essence and mystical feel of a big department store dwindled as often for full-time staff it became a second home. This feeling was not helped by the gradual development away from department stores and towards independent mainstream stores. This development hindered department stores as the public had a range of product-specific stores i.e. Zara (clothing store)/ Boots (health and beauty retailer) and Dunelm (drapery). Due to this and a subsequent reduction in sales, Bobby’s was absorbed by Debenhams in 1972. This has happened to multiple other department stores since, Plummer Roddis was acquired by Debenhams and was converted in 1972 as well. More recently, Beales was forced to shut down in 2020 – not helped by the COVID-19 crisis.

These changes in the frequency of department stores were seen as an imposing doom on those remaining department stores such as Marks and Spencer’s and House of Frasier. Therefore, after the closure of Debenhams in 2021, people were anxious to see the return of the once heart of the community – Bobby’s. This return of Bobby’s has given the people of Bournemouth a sense of belonging, especially to the older residents who remember when Bournemouth high street was buzzing with department stores.

Bobby’s- Life in a Department store

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