Kingsway eventually had branches in every major town and city across West Africa selling an array of imported goods, the latest fashions, books, records, and home décor. Modelled on Harrods it was a high-end retail environment and shopping experience.
The first Kingsway Stores was opened by Miller Brothers in Accra in 1914. Located on Accra’s High Street it was set amongst the mercantile offices and warehouses with its distinctive plastered colonnade shading the large plateglass windows that displayed the luxury items.
The business was eventually bought out by the United Africa Company and Ghanaian branches opened in Kumasi, Tamale, Koforidua, Tema, Sekondi, Takoradi.
A new store was built in Accra in time for the Independence in 1957 designed by architects T P Bennet and located on the newly developed Kwame Nkrumah Avenue – the modernist style architecture reflecting Nkrumah’s ambition for a ‘New Accra’. Kingsway pursued a rapid expansion drive elsewhere , building new stores across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Gambia.
Using previously unseen archival photographs, architectural drawings, marketing materials and brochures from the United Africa Company archive, this exhibition reveals this intriguing history for the first time. Two purpose built pavilions displaying images, drawings, films, and architectural models tell the Kingsway Story.
The exhibition was previously shown at Unilever, Liverpool, UK and was then shipped to Accra. From Accra it will continue its journey – heading to Kumasi, Tamale, Lagos – wherever there was a Kingsway we’ll do our best to visit….
The exhibition is curated by Professor Iain Jackson (Liverpool School of Architecture) and Claire Tunstall, Global Head of Art, Archives, and Records Management at Unilever. The exhibition was fabricated at the School of Architecture with the expertise of the workshop technicians. James Galliford has joined Iain in Accra to install the exhibition.
The first stop for this exhibition is going to be at Archiafrika, Jamestown Café, High Street Accra. From this wonderful spot the exhibition will be located next-door to the first Kingsway Store.
Join us on the opening night of the 15th January 2026 from 6pm.
You can also read more here at the Transnational Architecture website and on Instagram.