Complex sentence: In 1925 he purchased the Exeter department store Colsons & Co. rebranding the store Colsons of Exeter, and in 1932 bought the Clifton department store of Bobby & Co. In 1941, however, Percy was hit by a coal lorry and died at the age of 78.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1925 he purchased the Exeter department store Colsons & Co rebranding the store Colsons of Exeter, and in 1932 bought the Clifton department store Bobbys. However in 1941 Percy was hit by a coal lorry and died at the age of 78.