The store was opened as Watts' in 1832, and became Kendal, Milne & Faulkner when three employees bought out the business and re-opened it in 1836. The founder John Watts had begun a drapery business in Deansgate in 1796 which became prosperous and was later known as "The Bazaar" and expanded onto a site on the other side of Deansgate. The store building of 1836 (on the east side) was reconstructed after the street widening of 1873 by the architect E. J. Thompson. The site of the present store was occupied by the cabinet showrooms, workshops and packing departments.