Arcadia Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Anthony Grabiner, Chairman Sir Philip Green, CEO |
| Industry | Retail |
| Subsidiaries | Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Burton, Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis |
The Arcadia Group Limited (formerly the Arcadia Group PLC and the Burton Group PLC) is a British retail company that owns the high street clothing retailers Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, and Wallis, and the out of town chain Outfit, which sells lines from the other group chains. The group has more than 2,500 outlets in the UK, concessions in UK department stores such as Debenhams and Selfridges, and several hundred franchises in other countries. It is owned by the family of Sir Philip Green.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early history
The Company was founded by Montague Burton in Chesterfield in 1903 under the name of The Cross-Tailoring Company.[1] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1929 by which time it had 400 stores, factories and mills.[1]
The Company had a large factory in Leeds which was visited by the Princess Royal in 1934.[1]
After World War II Montague Burton offered men the chance to buy a full suit, which included jacket, trousers, waistcoat, shirt and underwear and became known as 'The Full Monty'.[1] In 1946 the Company acquired the Peter Robinson women's fashion chain.[2] By 1952, the year of Montague Burton's death, the Company was the largest multiple tailor in the world.[1]
Burton was the official sponsor for the World Cup in 1966.[1]
[edit] More recent history
In the mid-60's the Peter Robinson chain was relaunched as Topshop.[2]
In the 70's, and as a complement to the suit business which was in decline, the Group started to develop itself significantly in mainstream clothing retailing by beginning to target chains to precisely defined markets - for example it launched Topman for young men.[2]
In 1971 the Group acquired Evans, the market leader in larger-size fashion for women.[2] In 1979 the Dorothy Perkins chain was acquired, enabling the Group to consolidate its position in the womenswear markets.[2] In 1984 the Group launched a new chain, Principles, for fashion conscious women with a higher disposable income. Principles for Men was launched a year later in 1985.
Also in 1985 the Group acquired Debenhams, then the largest department store group in the UK,[3] and Colliers.[4]
In 1996, the Group made its first move into home shopping with the acquisition of Innovations[5] along with the Hawkshead brand in July 1996 and Racing Green in October 1996. Innovations and some related brands were then sold to the home shopping group Great Universal Stores in November 1997.[5]
The decision to de-merge Debenhams and separate it from the rest of the Group was announced in July 1997: the plan was approved by shareholders in January 1998 and the de-merger took effect later that month. At that time Debenhams became a separate company with its own listing on the London Stock Exchange.[3]
It was at this point that the Group, until then still Burton Group plc, became Arcadia Group plc.[6]
In June 1998 the Group acquired Wade-Smith, the Liverpool-based retailer of designer childrenswear, menswear and womenswear.[7]
In June 1999 Arcadia Group launched Zoom, an e-commerce and Internet Service Provider that forms a key part of the Group's multi-channel approach to retailing. Shortly after Zoom's launch, Associated Newspapers Ltd acquired a 50% stake in Zoom, allowing both partners to benefit from the increased joint marketing opportunities.[8]
In July 1999 Arcadia Group increased its share of the UK womenswear market with the acquisition of the Sears womenswear businesses, comprising the Warehouse, Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Outfit brands from the defunct Sears plc.[9]
In 2002, Arcadia Group PLC was bought by Taveta Investments, controlled by billionaire Philip Green who also owns Bhs & Tammy: accordingly Arcadia Group became a private company and was delisted from the London Stock Exchange.[2]
By the middle of October 2002, the company had sold some of its chains, including Principles, Warehouse, Racing Green and Hawkshead, to Rubicon Retail for £35m.[10]
In February 2009 it was announced that the Bhs department store chain, also owned by the Greens, will be integrated into Arcadia.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Burton: About us
- ^ a b c d e f Arcadia History
- ^ a b Debenhams: History
- ^ Burton plc to buy Colliers for $21.1m
- ^ a b Catalogue of achievements
- ^ Arcadia's clearance sale
- ^ Arcadia buys Wade-Smith
- ^ Daily Mail's owners buy 50% stake in Arcadia Group's Zoom
- ^ Arcadia buys Sears for £151m
- ^ Green poised to cross the Rubicon
- ^ Philip Green to integrate Bhs into Arcadia
