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Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of
British Home Stores British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, was a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to expand into furniture, electro ...
(BHS), Burton,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Evans Evans may refer to: People *Evans (surname) *List of people with surname Evans Places United States *Evans Island, an island of Alaska *Evans, Colorado *Evans, Georgia *Evans County, Georgia *Evans, New York *Evans Mills, New York *Evans City, ...
,
Miss Selfridge Miss Selfridge is a British fashion brand and former high street store chain which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, which we ...
, Topman,
Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
, Wallis and
Warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK, as well as concessions in UK
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s and several hundred franchises operated internationally. The company was majority owned by Taveta Investments, owned by
Tina Green Cristina Stuart Green, Lady Green (, formerly Palos; born August 1949), known as Tina Green, is an English businesswoman and interior designer. Green is the director of Taveta, the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd, the parent company ...
, wife of Sir Philip Green, chairman of the Arcadia Group. BHS, also owned by Green, was integrated into Arcadia in 2009. In 2015 the then loss-making BHS was sold for £1 to Retail Acquisitions Ltd owned by
Dominic Chappell Dominic Joseph Andrew Chappell (born 28 November 1966) is a failed British businessman who has been declared bankrupt on three occasions and was convicted for tax evasion. In 2015, his company, Retail Acquisitions Ltd, purchased the now collapsed ...
. In 2019, on the bankruptcy of BHS, British MP Frank Field, who previously investigated the BHS pension deficit, criticised Philip Green for paying huge dividends to his family and to friend
Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he div ...
"when things are going well", and making his employees pay "when things are not going well". In April 2019, it was reported that the Arcadia Group, controlled by the Green family, had recorded a £300m deficit in its pension fund, while the Green family had cashed out £1.2bn in dividends from Arcadia in 2005. The Arcadia Group 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. By 8 February 2021 all of the brands previously owned by Arcadia had been sold off by administrators to online retailers, mainly
ASOS ASOS or Asos may refer to: * Asos, a village in Greece * ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store * Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team * Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station * Air Support Operat ...
and
Boohoo Boo hoo may refer to the sound of someone crying. Boo hoo may also refer to: * '' Boo Hoo'', a 2002 album by musician Voltaire * "Boo-Hoo", a 1937 hit song recorded by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians * Boo Hoo the Bear, the mascot of Queen' ...
, sealing the fate of the remaining
bricks-and-mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
sites and thousands of jobs. Outfit, an out-of-town retail chain which comprised numerous Arcadia subsidiaries' merchandise, was not sold and so was closed.


History


Early history and pre-WW2 era

The Arcadia Group has its origins in the firm founded by 18-year-old Lithuanian immigrant Montague Burton in Chesterfield in 1903 as The Cross-Tailoring Company. Burton's initial operation, a men's clothing manufacture, tailoring and retailing operation, became the genesis for the current Burton Menswear chain, which still remains part of the company, albeit having moved away from traditional tailoring to mainstream men's off-peg casuals and formalwear line with shifting trends in fashion and clothing. The eventual holding company survived as Burton Group plc until 1998, when the current name was substituted. The firm's headquarters moved from Chesterfield to Leeds in 1910, and The Cross-Tailoring Company had changed its name to Burton by the time the First World War broke out in 1914. The company 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 P ...
in 1929, by which time it had 400 stores, factories and mills. By then, the company had a large factory in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
.


Post-war developments and expansion

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Montague Burton offered men the chance to buy a full suit, which included jacket, trousers, waistcoat, shirt and underwear, which became known as
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 ...
. In 1946, the company acquired the Peter Robinson women's fashion chain.Arcadia History
By 1952, the year Montague Burton died, the company was the largest multiple tailor in the world. Burton was the official suit supplier of the
England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...
for the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
in 1966. In 1964, the Peter Robinson chain began what became a relaunch as
Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
. This was in response to the development of a new young fashion culture around Britain in the 1960s; Topshop became the company's home of young, modern, on-trend ladieswear, a role it continues to hold. The Topshop launch began with Topshop-branded departments within Peter Robinson stores in 1964, with the first standalone Topshop stores opened ten years later in 1974. Eventually, the Peter Robinson name was dropped altogether. In 1971 the Group acquired
Evans Evans may refer to: People *Evans (surname) *List of people with surname Evans Places United States *Evans Island, an island of Alaska *Evans, Colorado *Evans, Georgia *Evans County, Georgia *Evans, New York *Evans Mills, New York *Evans City, ...
, a major operator in the field of fashionable clothing for women wearing larger-sized clothes. In the 1970s, and as a complement to the suit business, the Group began 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 in 1970. This development capitalised on the success of
Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
in catering for a young, fashion-savvy audience, and reflected the growth in men's casual clothing, with formal-wear sales declining due to the trend for more casual general clothing. The firm also expanded its horizons by acquiring businesses outside its fashion heartland, at one point owning
Ryman Ryman is a stationery retail company with 205 outlets nationwide in the United Kingdom. The website and stores provide a wide range of stationery and office supplies for homes and businesses, with its headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire. Hist ...
, the stationery chain, but later scaled back to focus principally on clothing. The
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 ...
chain was acquired in 1979, enabling the Group to expand into the mainstream womenswear market, following the success of its previous ladieswear ventures (Topshop and Evans). The Dorothy Perkins chain has subsequently been positioned as the group's main ladieswear operation, focused towards a similar target audience as Burton is in menswear. In 1984, the Group launched a new chain,
Principles A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the law ...
, for fashion conscious women with a higher disposable income; this allowed the firm to capitalise on emerging new fashion and business trends of the 1980s, such as
power dressing Born in the second half of the 1970s and developed in the 1980s, power dressing is a fashion style that enables women to establish their authority in a professional and political environment traditionally dominated by men. History The term ''power ...
. Principles for Men was launched a year later, in 1985, following the success of the ladies' division. Also in 1985, the Group acquired
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 ...
, then the largest department store group in the UK. The large store Browns of Chester, which had previously been part of the Burton group, was subsequently moved across to trade as part of the Debenhams chain, and remained part of the Debenhams unit following the unit's divestment (it was only Debenhams-owned department store to retain a unique name alongside the corporate brand at the time of its closure in 2021). The firm also purchased menswear firm Colliers, ultimately rolling this into the Burton, Topman and Principles For Men chains.


1990–2002: reorganisation, rebranding, launches and acquisitions

In 1993, spurred on by the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
of the early 1990s which had led to declining sales across the clothing retail market, the Burton Group undertook a major review of its trading space portfolio. Under the banner of Townprint, the firm reviewed the location and branding of its stores in each town and city in which they operated. At the time of the review, the Group was operating in the region of 1,600 stores, some of which had been with the group for some years and some of which were no longer performing adequately. The ultimate result was that the Group ended the leases on around 380 of the outlets they were trading from at that point, though replaced over half of these (around 220 stores in all) with the lease of store units which the Group had not previously been trading from. Around 350 stores were transferred from one of the company's brands to another. As part of the Townprint programme, the firm began to roll out new ways of working, such as operating increasing numbers of combined stores, where several brands shared the same unit; these combinations (such as Topshop/Topman or Burton/Dorothy Perkins unit-shares) would continue to be developed through the 1990s and 2000s as a way of reducing overheads whilst maintaining geographical spread of the brands. In 1996, the Group made its first move into home shopping with the acquisition of Innovations, a mail order catalogue company, 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 GUS plc was an FTSE 100 retailing, manufacturing and financial conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. GUS was an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's name before 2001, while it was also known as the ''Glorious Gussies'' amon ...
in November 1997. 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 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 P ...
. It was at this point that the Group, until then still known as Burton Group plc, became Arcadia Group plc. The late 1990s also saw the launch of a new experimental high-fashion menswear chain, SU214 (Style Union 214), which took its name from its flagship store at 214 Oxford Street in London. The chain aimed to capitalise on the growing demand for high-end casualwear and expand upon the group's presence in the young menswear market. In June 1998, the Group acquired Wade-Smith, the
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
-based retailer of designer childrenswear, menswear and womenswear. The acquisition was primarily to allow Arcadia to expand its presence in the childrenswear market, which they had made little attempt at up to this point. New Wade Smith Jr stores opened in locations such as the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. In June 1999, the 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 DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at Northcliffe House i ...
acquired a 50% stake in Zoom, allowing both partners to benefit from the increased joint marketing opportunities. In July 1999, Arcadia Group increased its share of the UK womenswear market with the acquisition of the
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
womenswear businesses, comprising the Warehouse, Wallis, Richards,
Miss Selfridge Miss Selfridge is a British fashion brand and former high street store chain which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, which we ...
and Outfit brands from the defunct
Sears plc Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999. History The business was founded by John and Willi ...
. Shortly afterwards, Arcadia chose to close down the underperforming Richards chain, though shops in suitable locations were rebranded under other Arcadia store brands. Arcadia continued to develop the Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Warehouse brands, and expanded significantly the Outfit out-of-town store chain, introducing other Arcadia brands to the stores and expanding the store network. In 2000, the firm undertook a strategy known internally as BrandMAX under which underperforming brands were closed or scaled down. In some cases stores which were closed were replaced by other Arcadia properties. As part of BrandMAX, the Wade Smith Jr, Principles For Men and SU214 store brands ceased to trade and were absorbed as concessions into other group businesses (for instance, menswear chain SU214 was absorbed into Topman). Miss Selfridge was also reduced significantly in size (though gained a new London flagship store in the former SU214 flagship site) and all remaining standalone Topman stores were replaced by combined Topshop-Topman stores, a process of integration which had begun some years previously.


2002–2020: the Green era

In 2002, Arcadia Group plc was bought by Taveta Investments, owned by Taveta Ltd, based in Jersey. Taveta Ltd is owned by Philip Green's family, the only director being his wife,
Tina Green Cristina Stuart Green, Lady Green (, formerly Palos; born August 1949), known as Tina Green, is an English businesswoman and interior designer. Green is the director of Taveta, the majority owner of Taveta Investments Ltd, the parent company ...
. Accordingly, Arcadia Group became a private company and was delisted from 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 P ...
. 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. Those Outfit stores which were already retailing Principles and Warehouse clothing continued to do so by arrangement with the new owners. Arcadia also entered into discussions regarding the sale of the Wade Smith brand back to its previous owners. In 2005, Sir Philip Green bought the UK retail stores of Etam and Tammy; these stores were converted into other Arcadia retail outlets, with Tammy clothing subsequently being retailed through BHS and Outfit stores. Some of the stores not retained by Arcadia were taken up by other fashion retail groups, with Monsoon acquiring a large number of the outlets. In February 2009, it was announced that the BHS department store chain, also owned by the Greens, would be integrated into Arcadia. As part of the changes, some administrative functions previously run separately were intended to be consolidated to improve efficiency, and some BHS retail stores were to begin to carry Arcadia brands as concessions, enabling Arcadia to expand the presence of its brands without having to lease numerous new stores, and allowing the firm to cut costs by transferring operations from stand-alone stores into BHS locations. In late 2010, Arcadia began a further review of its property portfolio, similar to those undertaken under the Townprint and BrandMAX schemes; several hundred of the group's existing store leases were set to expire over the next three to five years. Analysts estimated that between 150 and 300 stores could be shut and replaced with new locations or integrated/combined stores. After Phillip Green confirmed that the number of stores under lease was to fall, in 2013–14, Arcadia began shutting stores in several locations, mostly small-to-medium-sized towns and cities, including South Shields, Barnsley, Scunthorpe, Dartford, Crawley, Erdington, Birmingham and Market Harborough. Arcadia cited the rise in online shopping and "destination" centres as a reason for moving away from high street locations. In March 2015, following continued losses, BHS was sold to Retail Acquisitions Ltd. In March 2019, after continued losses, it was reported that Sir Philip Green was exploring a
company voluntary arrangement Under UK insolvency law an insolvent company can enter into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The CVA is a form of composition, similar to the personal IVA ( individual voluntary arrangement), where an insolvency procedure allows a compa ...
(CVA) to restructure the company. It was feared the plan could lead to more shop closures and job losses. A month later, two restructuring specialists were added to the Arcadia Group's board to oversee the implementation of the CVA. Amid the 2020 UK outbreak of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
, the group cancelled £100m of clothing orders which added to growing concerns of labour rights organisations of the impact on garment manufacturers globally.


Closures

In May 2019, Arcadia Group confirmed it planned to close multiple stores across the UK, US and Ireland with the possibility of further closures worldwide. Many stores across the UK were set to close including Topshop's flagship store on London's Oxford Street and up to five Topshop stores closing including the branch in Swindon. Stores outside the UK, US and Ireland were expected to remain open as they are currently under a franchise agreement, but subject to change. A total of 17 stores were confirmed for closure in the UK and a further six stores in the Republic of Ireland. Eleven Topshop and Topman co-branded stores were to close across the US with their products being available online through
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...
in North America. Between summer 2019 and winter 2020, Wallis, Evans and Dorothy Perkins (Dublin and Cork) stores exited the Irish market, Miss Selfridge stores (in
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
and
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 c ...
) and flagship stores belonging to Topshop and Topman (Dublin) also closed. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and continued issues with its parent company, Arcadia was expected to confirm a full closure of its Irish operations for late 2020 or early 2021. In December 2020, Arcadia's Irish companies (Arcadia Group Multiples Ireland Ltd, Topshop/Topman Ireland Ltd, Wallis Retail Ireland and Miss Selfridge Retail Ireland) confirmed they would be liquidated, however, they will continue to trade until early 2021. The impending closure of its Irish operations would result in less than 500 job losses in Ireland.


Administration

Arcadia Group went into administration at 8pm GMT on 30 November 2020, placing 13,000 jobs at risk. On 25 January 2021,
ASOS ASOS or Asos may refer to: * Asos, a village in Greece * ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store * Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team * Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station * Air Support Operat ...
said it was in "exclusive" talks to buy Arcadia's Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands out of administration, though it only wanted the brands, not the shops. A consortium including
Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...
had earlier dropped a bid to buy Topshop and Topman; interest in Arcadia operations had also been expressed by Mike Ashley's
Frasers Group Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pre ...
, a consortium including JD Sports, and online retailer
Boohoo Boo hoo may refer to the sound of someone crying. Boo hoo may also refer to: * '' Boo Hoo'', a 2002 album by musician Voltaire * "Boo-Hoo", a 1937 hit song recorded by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians * Boo Hoo the Bear, the mascot of Queen' ...
. On 1 February 2021, ASOS announced it had acquired the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands out of administration for £265 million, paying an additional £65 million for current and pre-ordered stock. ASOS kept 300 employees on as part of the deal but didn't keep any of the brand's 70 stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk. On 8 February 2021, Boohoo announced it had acquired the Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis brands out of administration for £25.2 million. Boohoo took on the ecommerce and digital assets of the three brands, as well as their inventory and transfer of 260 jobs. The deal did not include the brands' combined 214 stores, concessions or franchises, putting 2,450 jobs at risk.


Operations

Arcadia's brands, including Dorothy Perkins, were mainly supplied by International Clothing Designs, a company owned by Philip Green's long-time friend
Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he div ...
, owner of the
Annabel's Annabel's is a private members club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London. It was opened at 44 Berkeley Square in 1963 by Mark Birley and named for his wife Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart. It was founded in the basement of the Clermont ...
nightclub. All of Arcadia's brands were sold during January and February 2021 to online retailers, meaning that the related stores will eventually close. Outfit, out-of-town stores carrying various Arcadia brands but not a clothing brand in its own right, closed in January 2021.


Former operations

*
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 ...
- demerged in 1998, entered liquidation late 2020 - sold to Boohoo * Etam - closed shortly after purchase * Hawkshead - sold to Rubicon Retail * Innovations - sold to GUS in 1997 * Peter Robinson - became
Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
*
Principles A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the law ...
- sold to Rubicon Retail; now owned by
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 ...
*
Principles A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the law ...
for Men - closed * Racing Green - sold to Rubicon Retail * Richards - closed shortly after purchase * SU214 - closed * Wade Smith - sold circa 2002 * BHS - sold to Retail Acquisitions Ltd in March 2015 but ceased trading in 2016 * Warehouse - sold to Rubicon Retail *
Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...
and Topman - sold to
ASOS ASOS or Asos may refer to: * Asos, a village in Greece * ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store * Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team * Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station * Air Support Operat ...
*
Evans Evans may refer to: People *Evans (surname) *List of people with surname Evans Places United States *Evans Island, an island of Alaska *Evans, Colorado *Evans, Georgia *Evans County, Georgia *Evans, New York *Evans Mills, New York *Evans City, ...
- sold to
City Chic City Chic Collective () (CCC), founded as Miller's Retail in 1992, and rebranded in December 2006 to Specialty Fashion Group, is an Australian retail clothing company. It is headquartered in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria. Miller's Retail Mi ...
*
Miss Selfridge Miss Selfridge is a British fashion brand and former high street store chain which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, which we ...
- sold to ASOS * Burton - sold to
Boohoo Boo hoo may refer to the sound of someone crying. Boo hoo may also refer to: * '' Boo Hoo'', a 2002 album by musician Voltaire * "Boo-Hoo", a 1937 hit song recorded by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians * Boo Hoo the Bear, the mascot of Queen' ...
* Wallis - sold to Boohoo *
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 ...
- sold to Boohoo


Controversies


BHS

The Green family bought BHS for £200m in 2000, and it became part of the Arcadia Group in 2009, before being sold in 2015 for £1 to
Dominic Chappell Dominic Joseph Andrew Chappell (born 28 November 1966) is a failed British businessman who has been declared bankrupt on three occasions and was convicted for tax evasion. In 2015, his company, Retail Acquisitions Ltd, purchased the now collapsed ...
. By the time of its sale to Chappell, the company had a pension deficit of £571m. This deficit was attributed to Green having paid dividends to his family and to
Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he div ...
. Caring, a personal friend of Philip Green, secretly owned a stake in BHS in the early 2000s, and was awarded £93m in dividends.


References


External links


Official website
{{Arcadia Group 2021 disestablishments in England 2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom Clothing companies of England Clothing retailers of England Companies based in the City of Westminster Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Privately held companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 2002 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020