The offices consisted of two rooms in a terraced house in Lavender Sweep, London employing 12 staff. Catalogues had around 200 pages and goods were illustrated using black & white drawings.

Grattan founded by John Fattorini, selling mainly jewellery. When the business began to flourish, he started to sell through catalogues to increase the customer base.

In 1943 war shortages meant that no household items were available, only clothing. Coupon rates were introduced as a way to pay for Freemans clothes.

Freemans had expanded rapidly with the post-war boom, with over 7000 parcels a day being dispatched, many paid for on credit. Freemans was by now competing with the leading department stores of the day, selling a wide range of consumer goods in its fdivl colour catalogue of over 1000 pages.

The Grattan main office was built at Anchor House, on Ingleby Road in Bradford. Freemans became a public company and the following year installed its first computer.

Freemans opened an automated distribution centre at Peterborough, the largest warehouse in Europe at the time. They then became the first company to post goods in plastic packaging.

Freemans became the first home shopping company in the UK to introduce a telephone ordering service for its agents.

Grattan was bought by Next plc for £300 Million.

Freemans was acquired by Sears plc and became one of the country’s largest retail organisations.

In the 1990s Grattan was the UK’s fourth largest mail order firm. However following a postal strike and the recession of the early 1990s, its parent company Next put Grattan on the market. In 1991 Otto Versand outbid Sears plc to acquire Grattan.

Freemans launched its shopping website freemans.com

Otto Versand paid around £150 million to acquire Freemans from Sears plc.

The administration divisions of the Otto Group’s two British subsidiaries, Freemans & Grattan, were joined under the umbrella brand OTTO UK in 2000. Otto UK is re-branded to Freemans Grattan Holdings.

Curvissa is launched, providing style for women sized 14-32 with the simple aim to help our customers feel good every day.

Swimwear365 is launched, offering the UK’s largest online swimwear range and holiday fashion essentials for all the family.

Clearance 365, Lascana and Gifts365 are launched, providing discounts on many fabulous fashion, Lingerie and Gifts all year round. Look Again is re-launched, packed with inspiration for a fashionable wardrobe and home.

Ann Steer took over as the CEO of Freemans Grattan Holdings, leading the business with fresh vision and direction.

Freemans undergoes an exciting re-brand and refreshing it's positioning in the market to become an online digital department store with additional launches of exclusive collections.

Kaleidoscope undergoes an exciting re-brand in 2021, relaunching as a vibrant digital boutique with a new creative identity and product that is Different by Design for our customers today, at home and on the go.

A key strategic shift, Freemans Unlock allowed customers to make cross-brand purchases, with a particular focus on Freemans, enhancing the shopping experience.

FGH launched Flexi, a new financial product, giving customers more flexible payment options for their purchases.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor joined Freemans as the brand ambassador, alongside the exciting launch of the Style Squad, a team dedicated to helping customers style and shop for the perfect outfits.