Hobbs is a women’s clothing, footwear and accessories retailer based in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, UK. It was founded in
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
in 1981 and began as a shoe retailer. Hobbs now has stores across the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, concession stores in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and franchise stores in Dubai and Sweden. The
online store
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the r ...
serves 55 countries worldwide. Hobbs is popularly associated with clothing priced in the mid range for a customer base that is largely middle-aged and older.
Origins and history
Hobbs was established in Hampstead in 1981 by Yoram and Marilyn Anselm, targeting the "average woman between the ages of 20 and 40 interested in clothing". The brand was named after Marilyn’s favourite brand of horsebox. Having studied sculpture at the
Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
, Marilyn states that she began designing her own clothes because she was appalled by the lack of quality clothing available in the early 1970s. Hobbs initially produced shoes, but the clothing line was introduced in 1986, with continued growth of the shoe collection. UK expansion continued, to 34 stores across the UK in 2002. As of January 2020, Hobbs manages 77 stores across the United Kingdom and abroad and operates from a range of department stores, such as Debenhams and John Lewis.
The Hobbs online store was launched in 2008, enabling customers to make purchases from the website. This was expanded to include international customers in 2013 and Hobbs now delivers to 55 countries, with websites serving Australia, Germany and the US.
In 2013 it was rumoured that the company would be sold, after it employed consultants from
Price Waterhouse Coopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
and began planning a launch of the brand in China. Its owners,
3i, wrote down the value of the company in January 2014. In the financial year 2014-15, Hobbs suffered pre-tax losses of £15.6 million, after acquiring a new chairman and chief executive during 2014. It closed nine outlets during the period. Hobbs is led by CEO Meg Lustman.
Hobbs in the United States
Hobbs launched in
Bloomingdales
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...
in 2014, and there are now 13 concessions across the Bloomingdales network. Hobbs is also available online at Bloomingdales.com. In 2015, the team in the Bloomingdales North Michigan Avenue branch received the Bloomingdales "B the Best" Award, as well as the team in the 59th Street store.
Germany
Hobbs has a total of four stores in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
department stores Wöhrl and SinnLeffers which opened in 2016.
Italian Shoe Factory
In 1994, the company purchased The Italian Shoe Factory in
Porto San Giorgio
Porto San Giorgio is a ''comune'' (town or municipality) in the Province of Fermo, in the Marche region of Italy. It has approximately 15,700 inhabitants (2021) and it is located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
History
Already famous at the tim ...
, a seaside town on the Adriatic coast of Italy traditionally associated with shoe-making. The factory employs 41
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
shoe makers, and 700 pairs of shoes are made each day in the factory.
Collaborations
In 2013, Hobbs launched a licensed collection produced in collaboration with the
Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages some of the United Kingdom's unoccupied royal palaces.
These are:
* Tower of London
* Hampton Court Palace
* Kensington Palace (State Apartments and Orangery)
* The Banqueting Hous ...
. Two collections are now designed and produced each year. In 2015 the collection received an Innovation award for the collaboration between Historic Royal Palaces and Hobbs on Collection No.4. Hobbs also works in collaboration with Smart Works;
a
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
which seeks to help unemployed women to enter the UK workplace by providing interview clothes, styling advice and interview training.
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.hobbs.com/
Clothing companies based in London
Clothing companies of England
Clothing companies established in 1981
Retail companies established in 1981
Shoe companies of the United Kingdom