Ernest Debenham

Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham, 1st Baronet (26 May 1865-25 December 1952), was a British businessman. He was responsible for the considerable expansion of the family's retail and wholesale drapery firm between 1892 and 1927.

Educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge, he joined the successful business in Wigmore Street, London, which had been run by his grandfather and father. His restructuring activities led to the splitting of the manufacturing from the retail side of the business, under the name Debenham & Freebody (Freebody was the maiden name of his grandmother). He effected a merger with Marshall & Snelgrove as well as a takeover of Harvey Nichols. He was noted for his paternalistic attitude towards his staff, providing medical and educational support. He was also a pioneer in the dairy industry.

On his retirement he sold most of his shares in the firm for £1.8M, so severing his family's connections with the retail chain that still bears his name. He was created a Baronet, of Bladen in the County of Dorset, in 1931.

References

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography