An old photo of the first Kingsway Stores Building built by the Miller Brothers

In the history of shopping malls and retail stores in Ghana, one name that can never go unnoticed is Kingsway.

Being the first-ever shopping mall to be built in Ghana and West Africa, its history remains nostalgic and a true depiction of Ghana's growth over the years.

Kingsway Stores, as it was called, was opened in Accra and Kumasi by the Miller Brothers from 1915 to 1920 and dealt in retail goods from the UK, including furniture and groceries to serve British expatriates in Ghana.

According to an article by transnationalarchitecture.group, "Kingsway Stores was the most exclusive retail chain in colonial British West Africa. Established by a British import-export firm, Miller Brothers, the chain’s first two department stores opened in Accra and Kumasi in 1915-1920 and were explicitly modelled on Harrods and Selfridges.

"Named for the boulevard in London’s Holborn, where Millers was headquartered in a stodgily baroque office building, the Kingsway Stores sold imported food, clothing and home wear to a primarily British expatriate clientele."

The Kingsway Stores, despite being originally designed for foreigners, became the go-to place for well-to-do Ghanaians who could afford it and a "tourist site" for most Ghanaians.

Reports say some Ghanaians even visited the mall to enjoy the breeze from air conditioners and get a feel of the excavators.

Kingsway Stores was originally built in Accra, Usher Fort, but was rebuilt to the current one in Accra in 1957.

It was said to be the dream of every child to visit the mall during Christmas for various reasons, including access to foreign groceries and "Father Christmas."

Visiting the mall was considered a luxury only a few could afford.

But by 1929, a series of mergers and takeovers saw Miller Brothers absorbed into Unilever’s vast African subsidiary, the United Africa Company, which is currently the subject of a collaborative research project led by the University of Liverpool and Unilever Archives, and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

The Kingsway chain grew under the United Africa Co’s ownership and by the early 1950s, Kingsway Stores traded in each of the British West African capitals, Accra, Lagos, Freetown, Banjul, and in many of the larger towns and cities across the region: Kumasi, Cape Coast, Sekondi, and Tamale in the Ghana, and in Jos and Kaduna in Nigeria, according to the article by transnationalarchitecture.group.

SSD/AE

Cheque Fraud EXPOSED: How it works and how to stay safe