Arnotts has its origins in a business founded in 1843 at 14 Henry Street, by George Cannock and Andrew White.

The new development was to be called the Northern Quarter and was to be one of the largest rejuvenation projects to ever be undertaken in this area of the city centre.

As part of this project, it was intended to move the department store to a nearby former Debenhams Ireland branch in the Jervis Shopping Centre, but as plans changed this opened as "Arnotts Project";[5] which operated for less than a year before being surrendered back to the landlord.

[4] On 24 December 2021 it was announced that the Selfridges company had been sold to a joint venture between Thai Central Group and Signa Holding in Austria for $5.37 billion, a deal which included Arnotts as well as the Brown Thomas chain and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands.

In October 2024, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) acquired Signa's 40% stake in Selfridges Group.

[14] In 1850, John Arnott opened a drapery shop on Jamaica Street, Paisley, Scotland.

In 1936, Fraser, Sons & Co Ltd bought the business but continued to trade under the Arnott and Company brand.