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Mary Portas
Mary Portas (''née'' Newton; born 28 May 1960) is an English retail consultant and broadcaster, known for her retail- and business-related television shows, founding her creative agency Portas and her appointment by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, to lead a review into the future of Britain's high streets. Early life and education Portas was the fourth child of five siblings, born into a Catholic and Protestant Irish family in a small end-of-terrace in Windsor Road in north Watford. She attended Holy Rood Catholic Junior School (in north Watford) and then St Joan of Arc, a Catholic grammar School in Rickmansworth. Her Belfast born Catholic mother, died of encephalitis when Portas was aged 16, her father soon remarried but died of a heart attack two years later forcing Portas, aged 18, to turn down a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in order to look after her younger brother on her own. Career Portas started her career in retail with a Saturday job in John L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and breweries. While industry has declined in Watford, its location near London and transport links has attracted several companies to site their headquarters in the town. Cassiobury Park is a public park that was once the manor estate of the Earls of Essex. The town developed next to the River Colne on land belonging to St Albans Abbey. In the 12th century, a charter was granted allowing a market, and the building of St Mary's Church began. The town grew partly due to travellers going to Berkhamsted Castle and the royal palace at Kings Langley. A mansion was built at Cassiobury in the 16th century. This was partly rebuilt in the 17th century and another country house was built at The Grove. The Grand Junction Canal in 1798 and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Halpern
Sir Ralph Mark Halpern (24 October 1938 – 10 August 2022) was a British businessman, who was the founder of Topshop and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Burton Group from 1979 to 1991. Early life Ralph Halpern was born in October 1938 in London, after his Jewish parents fled from the Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ... in the 1930s and emigrated to England, losing their fortune. Career Halpern joined Burton Group as a management trainee in 1961, and was directly involved in the establishment of Top Shop (above a Peter Robinson branch) in 1964. On the back of its success he progressed through the managerial ranks becoming chief executive in 1978. He turned it into a retail empire that dominated the British high street, with 2,800 stores and employing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has been owned by the Stern family in Switzerland and remains the last family-owned independent watch manufacturer in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its founding. It designs and manufactures timepieces as well as movements, including some of the most complicated mechanical watches. The company maintains over 400 retail locations globally and over a dozen distribution centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. In 2001, it opened the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Patek Philippe is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious watch manufacturers in the world. Over the years, notable Patek Philippe patrons and timepiece owners i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Pink
Thomas Pink Limited is a British shirt-maker. It was established in London in 1984 by three Irish brothers – James, Peter and John Mullen. From 1999 it was part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group. In 2018 it lost £23.5 million. The company changed its name to Pink Shirtmaker in November 2018, and it was put up for sale in December 2020. It closed in January 2021, but was acquired in February and had resumed trading by November. History The company was started in 1984 by three Irish brothers – James, Peter and John Mullen. It was named after Thomas Pink, an eighteenth-century tailor in Mayfair, London. In 1999, it was sold to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, which paid about €48 million for 70% of the company. At the time, the company had 20 shops, including 17 in the UK, one in Dublin and two in the United States. LMVH bought the remaining 30% of the company in 2003. In 2012, Thomas Pink launched legal proceedings in the UK against Victoria's Secret, which was m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boden (clothing)
Boden is a British clothing retailer selling primarily online and via mail order and catalogue. It was founded by Johnnie Boden in 1991 as a mail-order business. The company sells in several countries, with websites for the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Australia. The value of Boden has been estimated at £300 million. In 2015, Boden (which at the time had one outlet store in Park Royal, London) announced plans to open a number of physical stores. History The company was founded in 1991 by Johnnie Boden, initially launched with eight menswear products. Womenswear was introduced in 1992. Childrenswear range Mini Boden was introduced in 1996 by Kate Barton who then became the chief designer. The UK website was launched in April 1999. In 2002, the company expanded to America, with a website which now accounts for one third of total sales, which in 2012 were $150m. Boden's first shop opened in 2004 in Hanger Lane, London. In 2007, the brand launched a bab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Dunhill
Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill tobacco products company owned by British American Tobacco (now two independently owned entities). From 1893 Dunhill ran a company selling motoring accessories, and in 1902 opened a shop in Mayfair. He developed a pipe designed for motorists in 1904. He opened a tobacconist's shop in St James's in 1907, offering tailored tobacco blends. Shops were opened in New York and Paris in the 1920s. With his international ambitions, Dunhill helped to create the modern luxury goods market. He retired from business in 1929, and married his mistress in 1945, following the death of his wife. Early life Dunhill was born on 30 September 1872 at 2 Church Path, Hornsey, Middlesex. He was the second son of five children of Henry Dunhill (1842–1901), a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swarovski
Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glass, jewelry and accessories; Swarovski Optik, which produces optical instruments such as telescopes, telescopic sights for rifles, and binoculars; and Tyrolit, a manufacturer of grinding, sawing, drilling, and dressing tools, as well as a supplier of tools and machines. Today, the Swarovski Crystal Business is one of the highest grossing business units within Swarovski, with a global reach of approximately 3,000 stores in roughly 170 countries, more than 29,000 employees, and a revenue of about 2.7 billion euros (in 2018). Swarovski is now run by the fifth generation of family members. It has been announced, however, that for the first time in the company's key history, senior management p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oasis Stores
Mosaic Fashions hf was the company of several fashion brands. The company has 1,760 stores and concessions in the UK, Europe and the USA, 234 Franchise stores in 44 countries and 93 joint venture stores including 84 concessions in China. History Oasis The Oasis stores started in 1991, and in 1995 Oasis Stores Plc. was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In April 1998 Oasis purchased the Coast stores. In September 2001 the management team of Oasis Stores Plc, acquired the company via Sierra Acquisitions Ltd., supported by PPM Ventures. Sierra Acquisitions Ltd. later became a part of Sierra Holdings Ltd. On 16 April 2020, it was announced that both Oasis and Warehouse had fallen into administration. On 30 April 2020 the administrators announced that they had failed to find a buyer for both stores with the loss of 1,800 jobs. The brand was later bought by Boohoo.com. Mosaic Fashions In November 2003 Oasis and Coast were acquired from PPM Ventures by a secondary management ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the world's leading international fashion houses. It sells its products through standalone boutiques, lease departments in high-end department stores, departmental stores, and through the e-commerce section of its website. For six consecutive years (2006–2012), Louis Vuitton was named the world's most valuable luxury brand. Its 2012 valuation was US$25.9 billion. In 2013, the valuation of the brand was US$28.4 billion with revenue of US$9.4 billion. The company operates in 50 countries with more than 460 stores worldwide. History Founding to World War II The Louis Vuitton label was founde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with her best friend and comedy partner, Dawn French. With French, she co-wrote and starred in their eponymous sketch show, ''French and Saunders'', for which they jointly received a BAFTA Fellowship in 2009. Saunders later received acclaim in the 1990s for writing and playing her character Edina Monsoon in her sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. Early life Jennifer Jane Saunders was born on 6 July 1958 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England.Hannah Hamad. Jennifer Saunders' — screenonline.org. Retrieved 4 October 2007. Her mother, Barbara Jane Saunders née Duminy, was a biology teacher, born in France, and her father, Robert Thomas Saunders, served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He reached the rank of group capt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saunders, who also stars as one of the main characters with Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha. The series features Edina Monsoon, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusing PR agent who spends her time failing to lose weight and chasing bizarre fads in a desperate attempt to stay young and "hip". Edina is joined by magazine fashion director Patsy Stone, whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and desperate promiscuity far eclipse Edina's. Edina is reliant upon the support of her daughter Saffron, a student and aspiring writer whose constant care of her immature mother has left her a bitter cynic. The series also stars June Whitfield in a supporting role as Edina's dotty, sarcastic, and often thieving mother who appears in nearly every episode. Jane Horrocks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D&AD
Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. It is most famous for its annual awards, the D&AD Pencils. The highest award given by D&AD, the Black Pencil, is not necessarily awarded every year. History Origins (1962–1977) D&AD was founded in 1962 by a group of London-based designers and art directors including David Bailey, Terence Donovan, Alan Fletcher, and Colin Forbes (who designed the original D&AD logo). A panel of 25 judged the 2500 entries to the first awards in 1963. They awarded one Black Pencil (to Geoffrey Jones Films) and 16 Yellow Pencils. Early winners received an ebony pencil box designed by Marcello Minale, one of the founding partners of Minale Tattersfield, which contained a pencil with silver lettering. In 1966 it was replaced by a more durable award. Its e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
