Past Times was a United Kingdom high street retailer, specialising in gifts and retro style goods. It was established as a mail order company in 1986 by John Beale,[1] who was also the developer of the Early Learning Centre.[2] In June 1987, the company opened the first branch in Oxford.
The firm went into administration in January 2012[3] and in March 2013 the brand name was bought by WHSmith.[4] Past Times' website was taken down following the purchase.[5]
External links
- Official website at the Wayback Machine
References
- John Richard Beale, 1944–2024.^
- WHSmith's acquisition of Past Times: What do retailers need to know? Retail Week, 17 April 2013, retrieved 22 December 2013^
- Past Times goes into administration BBC News, 16 January 2012^
- Rachel Cooper. WH Smith buys Past Times brand The Daily Telegraph, 11 April 2013^
- Chloe Rigby. Past Times website taken down as WH Smith buys the brand InternetRetailing, 2013-04-12, retrieved 2019-12-04^