Burton is a British online clothing retailer and former
high street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
retailer specialising in mens clothing and footwear. The company was a constituent of the
FTSE 100 Index
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest marke ...
, but became a trading name of ''Arcadia Group Brands Ltd'', part of the
Arcadia Group
Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (B ...
.
Sir Philip Green
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company the Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. As of Ma ...
acquired the Arcadia Group in 2002, and it became the sole owner of Burton.
[ In 2020, Arcadia went into ]administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
, putting the Burton brand up for sale; in February 2021, Boohoo.com acquired the brand from its administrators.
There were over 400 stores in the UK.
History
The company was founded by Sir Montague Maurice Burton
Sir Montague Maurice Burton (15 August 1885 – 21 September 1952) was the founder of Burton Menswear, one of Britain's largest chains of clothes shops.
Early life
Born Meshe David Osinsky and a Lithuanian Jew in Kurkliai, Kaunas provi ...
in Chesterfield in 1903 under the name of The Cross-Tailoring Company. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in 1929 by which time it had 400 stores, factories and mills.[
After ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Montague Burton was one of the suppliers of demob suit
A demob suit was a suit of civilian clothes given to a man on his demobilisation from the British armed forces at the end of the Second World War. Although the suits were of good quality, the need to clothe millions of demobilising servicemen le ...
s to the British government for demobilising servicemen, comprising jacket, trousers, waistcoat, shirt and underwear.[ It has been speculated that this is the origin of the phrase "]the full monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is ...
". In 1946, the company acquired the Peter Robinson department store chain. Montague Burton died in 1952. By this time, the company was the largest multiple tailor in the world.
The company expanded by purchasing various other brands, including competitors until it was split from Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
in 1998. At this time Burtons became a brand name, and the Arcadia Group
Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (B ...
name took over as the group name.
The companies purchased or merged with were:
*1954Jackson the Tailor
*1979Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins is an online British women's fashion brand based in the United Kingdom. Formerly a store chain, it sold both its own range of clothes and branded fashion goods until February 2021, when it became part of Boohoo.com, having bee ...
*1984Harry Fenton
*1985Debenhams
*1986 John Collier
Burton was the official clothing supplier to the England national football team
The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...
for the 1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in th ...
, UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
and the 2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
championships.[ In 1998 the company changed its name to ]Arcadia Group
Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (B ...
.
Philip Green purchased the company in 2002.[
The Burton company archives are held at the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Leeds.
In July 2020, Arcadia Group, which comprised several brands including Burton, had been hit hard by the ]COVID-19 lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
and planned hundreds of job cuts to minimise costs. As financial difficulties worsened, Arcadia entered administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
on 30 November 2020. In February 2021, Boohoo.com announced it was buying the Burton brand from Arcadia (along with the Wallis and Dorothy Perkins brands) for £25.2 million, with the loss of around 2,450 jobs.
Architecture
Beginning in 1923, Burton began to acquire freehold sites in order to build its own custom designed stores. Prominent town centre corner sites were preferred and the shops often moved a few doors along the same street in order to acquire the corner site. Leeds-based architect Harry Wilson was hired at this time and developed the Burton "house style" building design. In 1931 Burton took over Wilson's practice to make it the in-house architecture department. Wilson was replaced as chief architect by Nathaniel Martin in 1937.
This Burton in-house architecture was Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
in style. Individual stores vary from the more restrained red-brick with neoclassical scroll headed columns to fully-fledged Art Deco with glazed white faience
Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ...
tile, geometric patterns and stylised elephant heads. However, there are also many standard elements such as a wide polished black granite band above the shop windows for signage, metal vent grates bearing the company logo, billiard halls on the upper levels, window lights showing the locations of other Burton stores, and mosaic titlessometimes including the company logoin the doorways.
At ground level, foundation stones were often placed by Montague Burton's four children, Barbara, Stanley, Arnold and Raymond. Each store might have one or several foundation stones, each bearing one name and the year. For example: "This stone laid by Raymond Montaque Burton 1937". The children were quite young when these stones were laid. Stanley Howard was born in 1914 and laid a stone for the Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
Beastmarket Hill store in 1924. At least six stores bear stones laid by Montague's wife "Lady Burton", and a number in the mid to late 1930s were laid by Austin Stephen Burton who may have been a grandchild.
Whilst some of these Burton buildings have been destroyed over the years, many are still standing and some of them still have active snooker clubs upstairs. Some were still occupied by Burton stores at the time of Arcadia's closure in 2020 (often a combined Burton and Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins is an online British women's fashion brand based in the United Kingdom. Formerly a store chain, it sold both its own range of clothes and branded fashion goods until February 2021, when it became part of Boohoo.com, having bee ...
store) but many others had changed use. McDonald's first three restaurants in the UK were opened in former Burton stores in 1974 and 1975 as the company was selling property at that time.
Most of the Scottish stores are listed with Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...
, protecting them from changes. However, only six stores in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
are listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, leaving over 200 with no protection from future changes or demolition. , stores have been demolished in Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
(2004) and Neasden
Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 ( Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh H ...
(2012).
The first Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
Burton's store was housed in the purpose-built Montague Burton Building
The Montague Burton Building is an Art Deco commercial building on the corner of Dame Street and South Great George's Street in Dublin, Ireland. It was constructed between 1929 and 1930 and designed by architect Harry Wilson.
Named after Montagu ...
on the corner of Dame Street
Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
and South Great George's Street
South Great George's Street is a street in south-central Dublin, Ireland.
History
Early history and naming
The area is associated with Early Scandinavian Dublin. Four burials excavated near South Great George's Street were also associated ...
. It is now on the city's list of protected structures.
Charitable activities
Burton has worked with the Bobby Moore Fund in order to publicize the issue of bowel cancer. England's World-Cup-winning football team captain Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...
died of bowel cancer in 1993. The Bobby Moore Fund is an arm of Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
.
In November 2009, Burton sought to bring back "The Burton", a style of moustache
A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...
worn by founder Montague Burton, through their support of the Movember
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...
campaign in order to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity. The "Burton" moustache was styled upon two influential moustache types, the English and the Handlebar.
Notes
References
External links
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{{Authority control
1903 establishments in England
2021 disestablishments in England
2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
2021 mergers and acquisitions
British companies established in 1903
Clothing companies of England
Clothing companies based in London
Clothing companies established in 1903
Clothing retailers of England
Companies based in the City of Westminster
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Retail companies disestablished in 2021
Retail companies established in 1903
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020