Millets

History of Millets

Millets is well known today as a high street outdoor clothing and camping equipment retailer, but it has a complicated history in over 100 years of various related family run businesses, many of which traded under the Millets/Milletts name. In 1893, J.M. Millet opened the first Millets store, an outfitters and drapery business. In 1923, his grandson took over the Bristol outlet of J.M. Millet's business and developed it into an outdoor clothing and leisurewear retailer, soon expanding into five stores before the Second World War broke out. From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, Millets's expansion saw the business grow into a chain of 54 stores and in 1979 it was bought by Foster Brothers Clothing plc.

 

Meanwhile, in 1920 Morris Millett of another family with a similar name founded a haberdashers in Croydon, which expanded into eight stores by 1948 when Morris's son A.C. Millett joined the business. In 1952, A.C. Millett started his own retail business, which quickly expanded and acquired a company owned by another distant relation, E.G. Millett. This group bought a menswear retail company in 1964 and by 1978 was based in Northampton and traded as Milletts Leisure plc.

In 1986, Foster Brothers Clothing (owners of Millets) acquired Milletts Leisure plc and formed Millets Leisure Limited. In 1996, rebranded as the Outdoor Group, Millets Leisure had 158 outlets and was bought by Blacks Leisure Group and in 2009, during a period of restructuring, the group reduced its stores from 256 to 208. Blacks soon went into administration and since being bought out of administration by JD Sports in 2012,

Millets now trades from 80 stores across the UK and sell various outdoor gear ranging from hiking to camping equipment. Before making a purchase you can research the best camping gear from EnjoyOutdoors.com.

 

Brands

Millets offers products online and in store from a number of brands, including:

• Animal
• Berghaus
• Blacks
• Caterpillar
• Chute
• Dunlop
• Duracell
• Eurohike
• Extremities
• Fulton

• Garmin
• Gerber
• Gripfast
• Highlander
• Hunter
• Jarrold
• Karrimor
• Lifeventure
• Lonely Planet
• Macpac

• Maglite
• Nordic Grip
• The North Face
• Ordnance Survey
• Pathfinder
• Peter Storm
• Regatta
• Stanley
• Trespass
• Wayfarer

Departments

Millets has a range of in-store and online departments including:

• Brands
• Camping
• Cycling
• Equipment
• Fishing
• Footwear
• Kids
• Men's
• Seasonal items
• Skiing

• Walking
• Women's

Opening Times

Store opening times differ from store to store, with some stores opening or closing at later times. However, generally Millets stores are open at the following times:

Monday to Saturday: 09:00-18:00 Sunday: 10:00-16:00

Delivery Information

 

Standard UK home delivery is free of charge on orders over £60

or £3.99 for orders below this value. Standard delivery time is three to five days. Express delivery is available for the next day, seven days a week, for orders placed before 9pm Monday to Friday, 6pm Saturday or 3pm Sunday and this costs £5.99. Promotional offers are regularly available on delivery charges and it is worth checking out the website for these. There are some restrictions on express delivery by postcode, which are listed on the website. Evening delivery costs £9.99 and for orders placed before 1am delivery will take place the same day, between 6pm and 10pm. A signature is required for evening deliveries and this delivery option is available seven days a week.

 

Delivery to a store for collection is free and items will be delivered into your local Millets, Blacks, JD Sports, BANK Fashion or Scott Menswear store within five working days, to be collected within 14 days. Bikes cannot be delivered by express, evening or in-store deliveries. International delivery costs £4.99 within Europe and £9.99 elsewhere. International recipients may be liable for customs fees or import duty.

Returns Policy

Items can returned in-store for exchange up to 28 days after purchase or within 14 days to be eligible for a refund. They should be in re-saleable condition and accompanied by a receipt or delivery note to be eligible for a full refund. Exclusions to Millets's refunds policy include underwear and swimwear, unless faulty, for reasons of hygiene. Goods can also be returned by post or via one of the UK's 5,000 Collect+ parcel drop points. Returns made by post or Collect+ should be securely wrapped and accompanied by a proof of purchase.

Security & Reviews

Millets's online payment system is protected by Verified by Visa and Mastercard Secure to prevent loss of personal and payment data during the checkout process. Payment is also available via PayPal.

Millets has unfortunately received some negative reviews from customers on Trustpilot (https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.millets.co.uk) but it is worth bearing in mind that people are often more motivated to leave negative reviews than positive feedback following a purchase and many satisfied customers might not leave a review.