AllSaints

Last updated

AllSaints
IndustryFashion
Founded1994
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Number of locations
281 stores
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
2,200
Website www.AllSaints.com

AllSaints is a British fashion retailer headquartered in London, UK. [1] [2] [3] AllSaints sells menswear, womenswear, footwear, and accessories in 281 stores, and has approximately 2,400 employees across 27 countries and regions including the UK, France, Ireland, USA, Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China.

Contents

History

Founding (1994–98)

AllSaints was founded in 1994 by Stuart Trevor and Kait Bolongaro, who was the original womenswear designer at AllSaints and who went on to start Bolongaro Trevor. AllSaints started as a wholesale menswear brand that sold exclusively to high-end retailers such as Harvey Nichols and Harrods. [4] [5] [6] The company was named after Stuart Trevor's nickname, "The Saint", from his initials "ST", and All Saints Road in Notting Hill, London, where he spent much of his time. [7] [8] The first stand-alone AllSaints store was opened in Foubert Place off Carnaby Street in London on AllSaints Day in 1997. [9] [10] The company's first womenswear collection followed the next year in 1998. [5] [11]

Growth and expansion (1999–2018)

By mid-2004, AllSaints had expanded to 10 stores in the UK. [12] Between mid-2004 and the end of 2005, fashion financier Kevin Stanford, co-founder of womenswear chain Karen Millen, bought out each of AllSaints partners besides Stuart Trevor, thereby acquiring a majority stake in the company. [6] [12] [13] In December 2005, Stanford bought Trevor's stake in the company as well. [6] In 2006, AllSaints sold a 35% stake in the company to Icelandic investment firm, Baugur Group, with Kevin Stanford remaining the majority shareholder. [14] [15] In late 2006, the company launched its e-commerce website. [5] [16]

AllSaints store at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada Cosmopolitan Las Vegas 19 2013-06-22.jpg
AllSaints store at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada

In 2009-2010, AllSaints rapidly expanded globally, [7] [17] [18] launching a U.S.-specific e-commerce site and opening its first U.S. store in New York. [16] [17] [19] Following this, AllSaints opened stores across the United States; including in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Santa Monica, Seattle and Chicago. [2] [20] [21] By 2010, the cost of North American expansion was £43 million. Approximately half of revenues now come from overseas. [22]

In 2016, AllSaints launched its first stores in Italy, Turkey, Chile, Peru, Qatar, Taiwan and Dubai. [23]

In October 2018, AllSaints partnered with Revlon to launch its first fragrance line featuring Metal Wave, Incense City, and Sunset Riot.

Acquisition by Lion Capital (2011–12)

In April 2011, due to rapid expansion and the collapse of Icelandic investment firm Baugur Group, All Saints was £53 million in debt and on the brink of collapse. [24] [25] In May 2011, citing AllSaints' international potential and online presence, Lion Capital LLP, the British private equity firm headed by Lyndon Lea, combined with Goode Partners to purchase a 76% stake in AllSaints Spitalfields for £105 million. [26] [27] [28] [29] Lion Capital effectively saved AllSaints from collapse, which would have resulted in the loss of 3,000 jobs. [30] [31] The firm began to take an active role in day-to-day management, and hired 8 new top executives to manage the company. [4] [29] In 2012, Wil Beedle, formerly men’s design director, was appointed Chief Creative Officer overseeing the design and creative vision for all product categories. [32]

In March 2012, Goode Partners sold its 11% stake to Lion Capital as well as another 11% stake it held with other co-investors. [33] [4]

William Kim leadership (2012-2018)

In 2012, Lion Capital brought in William Kim, an industry veteran whose career included several years at Gucci Group and most recently Burberry, to be Chief Executive Officer. Under CEO William Kim’s leadership, the company turned around its fortunes, with a revenue increase of 6% to £231.1 million in the year to 31 January 2015 and, in the same period, an increase of 41% in EBITDA to £24.4 million. [34]

Kim was responsible for the company's expansion into Asia, where he focused on the airport retail sector. [35] Kim's tenure as CEO also saw the company increase its focus on digital retail with the launch of AllSaints.com. [36]

Kim left AllSaints in 2018 to become the head of digital investment at parent company Lion Capital. [37]

Peter Wood leadership (2018 - present)

Peter Wood had been employed by AllSaints since 2010, holding a number of positions such as CFO, COO and interim CEO before he became CEO in 2018. [38] In the year to February 2019, AllSaints' revenues grew to £331 million. [39] Wood has developed the business in three areas: increased investment in core apparel, expansion into digital and social media marketing (including using AllSaints staff as online advocates) and developing its wholesale, concessions, franchising and licensing offerings.

Over half of Board-level positions at AllSaints are held by women and, for the past three years, the company has had no median gender pay gap. [40]

In the year to February 2020, AllSaints’ revenues grew 10% to reach £364.1m. In the same period, operating profit rose 161% to £9.4m, making it the best financial performance in the brand's history. The performance was driven by growth in every channel and trading region. The company is reported to have seen online sales increase by 70% in the first half of its current financial year. [41]  

Following the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, AllSaints undertook a company voluntary arrangement in July 2020 to move the majority of its UK and North America stores to turnover-based rents. In a statement, the company said this was to "ensure the long-term viability" of the business. [42]

In 2020, US menswear brand John Varvatos was purchased by AllSaints’ owner, Lion Capital. [43] The following year, the brand was integrated into AllSaints. [44]

In 2022, AllSaints suspended trading in Russia due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.

In the year to January 2022, company revenues increased to £337 million. [45] This included four months’ trading performance of John Varvatos, which was acquired by AllSaints in October 2021. [45] In the same period, the company’s operating profit grew to £10.1 million, compared to £0.7 million in the previous year. [46] In the six months to July 2022, revenues for AllSaints and John Varvatos increased by 36% and 13% respectively, owing to better-than-forecast footfall and digital conversions. [46] [47]

In the year to January 2023, AllSaints reported a 36% increase in sales to £457 million and a 50% increase in profit to £58.6 million. [48] The company said this was a record sales and profit performance, and attributed it to product development, a new e-commerce platform, a growing global store network and rigorous inventory management. [49] The results included a full year of trading for John Varvatos, the New York-based alternative luxury menswear brand. [49]

Products and aesthetic

AllSaints sells menswear, womenswear, footwear, and accessories through its department store locations, stand-alone retail stores and its website. [3] [50] [51] The brand launched its first comprehensive handbag line, "The Capital Collection" in September 2015. [52]

AllSaints has had a connection to popular culture since its founding in 1994 when it was named after a famous London street (All Saints Road in Notting Hill). [7] [8] Young American and British celebrities are seen and photographed wearing AllSaints clothes to events and entering or leaving AllSaints stores. [53] [54] [55] [56]

Music

The company's strongest connection to date has been to the music industry, where they have collaborated with many established musical acts, including: Kings of Leon, Blonde Redhead, and the Dum Dum Girls. [5] [57] AllSaints hosts a series of live music performances in Los Angeles titled "The LA Sessions". [58] including global artists such as OneRepublic, Echosmith and Mikky Ekko.

In 2010, the English rapper Tinie Tempah released a single titled "Frisky" that entered the UK Singles Chart at #2 and mentioned the brand in one of the lyrics: "I think I found a winner, with no ring around her finger. Her dress from AllSaints, but I think I’ve found a sinner". [59] [60] In 2013, Justin Timberlake released a single titled "Suit & Tie" featuring Jay-Z in which Jay-Z also mentioned the brand in the lyrics: "Tom Ford tuxedos for no reason. AllSaints for my angel. Alexander Wang too". [61]

Activism and philanthropy

In addition to music, AllSaints is also active in social causes and public service. [62] In Summer 2011, the company entered into a long-term partnership with the Not For Sale organization and launched a T-shirt line whose profits go toward combating human trafficking. [63] Later that year, AllSaints released a short documentary titled Voices of the Cloth intended to promote British design and manufacturing. [64] [65]

AllSaints also supports UK homeless charity Shelter, as well as charity partnerships with LGBTQ+ rights charity Kaleidoscope Trust and anti-racism charity Black Minds Matter UK.

AllSaints is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative and in 2020 joined the British Retail Consortium’s Climate pledge to reduce to net-zero emission by 2040. [66]

Related Research Articles

Next plc (styled as NEXT) is a British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, which has its headquarters in Enderby, England. It has around 700 stores, of which circa 500 are in the United Kingdom, and circa 200 across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Next is the largest clothing retailer by sales in the United Kingdom, having overtaken Marks & Spencer in early 2012 and 2014. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

TOPSHOP is a British fast-fashion company, which specialises in 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 on 1 February 2021. It now operates via the ASOS website and app, as well as being sold in Nordstrom stores in the US on Nordstrom.com. TOPSHOP previously had around 510 shops worldwide.

Heidemarie Jiline "Jil" Sander is a German minimalist fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house.

River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.

Arcadia Group Ltd was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BHS), Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and Warehouse. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK and concessions in UK department stores and several hundred franchises operated internationally.

Jaeger is a British fashion brand and retailer of womenswear and menswear. Traditionally known for a classic 'twinset and pearls' image and the use of high-quality natural fibres, it has focused on updating its brand image since 2008, when it first appeared at London Fashion Week.

Calvin Klein Collection was the brand name for the high-end designer womenswear and menswear lines from fashion house Calvin Klein which were presented on the catwalks of New York Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent Limited</span> Indian retail company

Trent Limited is an Indian retail company, which is part of the Tata Group and based in Mumbai. Started in 1998, Trent owns and operates fashion and lifestyle retail formats such as Westside, Zudio and Utsa. The company also runs retail chains like Star Bazaar and Zara through joint ventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JD Sports</span> British sports-fashion retail company

JD Sports Fashion plc, commonly known as JD Sports, JD or JD Group is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The Pentland Group owns 55% of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Inc</span>

Blue Inc is a fashion retailer with 41 stores based and operating across the United Kingdom. It was notable for being one of the largest menswear retailers in the country until 2016. It had stores nationwide, mainly in larger towns and cities.

YOOX Net-a-Porter Group S.p.A. is an Italian online fashion retailer created on 5 October 2015 after the merger between Yoox Group and Net-a-porter Group (NAP).

Greenwoods was a chain of menswear stores with headquarters in Bradford, England.

Ports is an international luxury fashion house founded by Japanese Canadian fashion designer Luke Tanabe (1920–2009) in Toronto in 1961. It specializes in luxury women's and men's ready-to-wear as well as accessories. Acquired by Chinese Canadian brothers Alfred Chan and Edward Tan in 1989, Ports expanded into the Chinese market in the early 1990s where its parent company — which traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2003 to 2018 and has since been privatized — now operates more than 300 retail stores. Sub-brands of the fashion house include Ports (International) in China and Asia as well as Ports 1969, with subsidiaries in Milan and New York City as well as a flagship store in Paris, for global distribution.

John Varvatos is an international American men's lifestyle brand founded by John Varvatos, that designs, manufactures, and retails high-end fashion, using rock aesthetics as the foundation of the brand's designs. The fashion collection is distributed in 10 freestanding John Varvatos boutiques across the US, as well as in high-end department stores throughout the world. The John Varvatos Headquarters are located in New York City.

Bolongaro Trevor is a fashion brand from Kait Bolongaro and Stuart Trevor, original founders and former designers behind retail group AllSaints. They sold the business to investors in 2016 and now have no association with the brand

The Flannels Group Limited, trading as Flannels, is a British retailer. The company currently has 50+ locations open in the United Kingdom. In 1976, Neil Prosser founded Flannels. He remained the managing director until the brand was acquired by Frasers Group in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missguided</span> UK-based clothing retailer

MGL Realisations (2022) Limited was a UK-based fast-fashion retailer selling clothes aimed at women aged 16-35 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Chapman (businessman)</span> Entrepreneur and founder of MATCHESFASHION.COM

Thomas Watson Chapman is a British entrepreneur and investor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipsy</span> Womens and childrens apparel

Lipsy Limited, also known as Lipsy London, is a British fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company sells women's and children's apparel, accessories, beauty products and homeware through external websites and in-store sales.

Retail Apparel Group is an Australian and New Zealand clothing retail company, wholly owned by the Foschini Group. The company operates stores under the Tarocash, Connor, yd., Johnny Bigg, Rockwear and AXL+Co brands.

References

  1. ↑ La Ferla, Ruth, "The Romance of Jack the Ripper", New York Times, 8 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Adam, "The Biritsh Invade America Again Archived 2012-07-03 at the Wayback Machine ", Fast Company, 1 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 Company Info Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine . AllSaints Official Website.
  4. 1 2 3 Mattioli, Dana., "PE Firm Bows Out of Fashion Shop AllSaints", Wall Street Journal Deal Journal Blog, 22 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "AllSaints Fashion – Clothing, Accessories, Jewellery & Footwear Archived 3 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine ", London Fashion Review, 10 March 2011. Updated 12 November 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Weir, Laura. Stuart Trevor profile. Drapers Online. 20 October 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 Finch, Julia. AllSaints Go Marching In. The Guardian. 11 June 2010.
  8. 1 2 Martinez, Amy. Edgy Fashion Retailer AllSaints to Take Former Coldwater Creek Space Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Seattle Times. 5 May 2010.
  9. ↑ AllSaints Spitalfields Rocks Lincoln Road Mall Archived 2011-08-14 at the Wayback Machine . South Beach Magazine. 28 December 2009.
  10. ↑ "Lion Capital and Goode Partners to Acquire AllSaints Spitalfields Archived 2013-11-07 at the Wayback Machine ", AngelNews, 6 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Waight, Emma. "What's in Store at AllSaints Archived 2016-10-29 at the Wayback Machine ", clothes.org.uk. 4 April 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Stanford Buys Stake in AllSaints as its Expansion Push Continues", Retail Week, 24 September 2004.
  13. ↑ Bowers, Simon. House of Fraser says Kevin Stanford 'not welcome' back in boardroom. The Guardian. 29 April 2012.
  14. ↑ Ruddick, Graham, "Retail Entrepreneur Kevin Stanford in Talks to Buy AllSaints Stake", The Telegraph, 7 February 2009.
  15. ↑ Bowers, Simon, "Fashion tycoon Kevin Stanford plans House of Fraser comeback", The Guardian, 22 April 2012.
  16. 1 2 AllSaints Spitalfields Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine . drivebusiness.com.
  17. 1 2 "AllSaints Spitalfields Sale Continues Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine ", EPR, 19 January 2012.
  18. ↑ Thompson, James, "AllSaints Delivers Heavenly Profits and Sales", The Independent, 29 April 2010.
  19. ↑ Fair, S. S., "The Samurai Shopper Takes a Pal", New York Times T Magazine. 18 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "AllSaints Spitalfields Continue Widely Acclaimed Basement Sessions", EPR, 17 February 2012.
  21. ↑ Jones, Sandra, "Retailers Tap into iPad, Hoping Device Will Help You Buy", Chicago Tribune, 21 February 2011.
  22. ↑ Hounslea, Tara, "The Drapers Interview: William Kim on spreading the AllSaints gospel", Drapers Online, 12 November 2015.
  23. ↑ Mohammadi, Ameneh, "AllSaints Launches Its First Store In The Middle East" Ahlan!, 3 September 2015.
  24. ↑ Barrett, Claer, "All Saints on brink of rescue deal", Financial Times, 26 April 2011.
  25. ↑ Mason, Rowena, "Fashion mogul Kevin Stanford is haunted by Ghost", The Telegraph. 28 November 2010.
  26. ↑ Hawkes, Alex, "AllSaints Saved by Lion Capital", The Guardian, 5 May 2011. Amended 9 May 2011.
  27. ↑ "AllSaints Fashion Chain Saved From Collapse", The Guardian, 5 May 2011.
  28. ↑ "AllSaints Rescued by Private Equity Firms". Just-Style. 5 May 2011.
  29. 1 2 Holland, Tiffany. Dixons Etail Boss Joins AllSaints Global Push. Drapers Online. 2 June 2018.
  30. ↑ Gray, Rebecca, "Saviour rescues All Saints stores", Evening Times. 6 May 2011.
  31. ↑ Chapman, Matthew, "All Saints boss quits due to 'untenable' situation", Marketing Magazine. 27 September 2011.
  32. ↑ Jacob Brown, "Meet AllSaints Creative Director Wil Beedle" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Vogue, 16 September 2013.
  33. ↑ Hall, James., "AllSaints Bought by Lion Capital and Goode Partners for £105", The Telegraph, 6 May 2011.
  34. ↑ Hipwell, Deirdre, "AllSaints’ revival is paying dividends", The Times, 3 November 2015.
  35. ↑ "CEO Interview: "The next evolution is travel retail" says AllSaints' William Kim amid Asian expansion drive". The Moodie Davitt Report. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  36. ↑ Hounslea, Tara (9 November 2015). "How I got here: William Kim, chief executive of AllSaints". Drapers. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  37. ↑ Conti, Samantha (11 September 2018). "AllSaints CEO William Kim Moves to Parent Company Lion Capital". WWD. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  38. ↑ UK, FashionNetwork com. "AllSaints CEO William Kim departs, Peter Wood to take over". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  39. ↑ Fish, Isabella (31 October 2019). "AllSaints' holy grail: product, marketing and distribution". Drapers Online. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  40. ↑ News-Desk, Apparel Resources (3 April 2020). "Zero median gender pay gap at AllSaints for the third successive year | Sustainability News UK". Apparel Resources. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  41. ↑ "Record full-year results at AllSaints". Drapers. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  42. ↑ "Creditors green light AllSaints' CVA proposal - Retail Gazette". www.retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  43. ↑ Fish, Isabella (27 January 2022). "AllSaints rallies after 'most challenging year'". Drapers. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  44. ↑ Media, Insider. "Wells Fargo provides £65m growth facility to AllSaints and John Varvatos". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  45. 1 2 UK, FashionNetwork com. "AllSaints upbeat as signature brand and John Varvatos make progress". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  46. 1 2 Fish, Isabella (3 November 2022). "Profits and revenues rise at AllSaints". Drapers. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  47. ↑ Fish, Isabella (3 November 2022). "AllSaints CEO predicts 'best ever' year". Drapers. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  48. ↑ Fish, Isabella (23 August 2023). "High cost of living can't rock AllSaints". ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  49. 1 2 Roberts, Lauretta (7 August 2023). "AllSaints reveals record sales and profits performance". TheIndustry.fashion. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  50. ↑ Williams, Erin. "AllSaints Spitalfields Opens its Doors in Georgetown", Washington Post The Style Blog, 11 July 2011.
  51. ↑ "AllSaints Spitalfields", New York Magazine.
  52. ↑ Conlon, Scarlett, "A New Era At AllSaints", Vogue, 23 July 2015.
  53. ↑ Chiang, Bee-Shyuan, "Dressing Against Character", New York Times, 14 October 2011.
  54. ↑ Chiang, Bee-Shyuan, "In Something Familiar with All Her Black", New York Times, 1 December 2011.
  55. ↑ "Emma Watson Hearts AllSaints Archived 2012-06-24 at the Wayback Machine ", LOOK Magazine, 19 September 2008.
  56. ↑ "Zac's Heavenly Body is Too Hot to Handle", X17, 12 February 2010.
  57. ↑ "AllSaints Announces Basement Session with the Legendary DJ Harvey", Houston Chronicle, 28 February 2012.
  58. ↑ AllSaints Studios.
  59. ↑ Archive Chart. UK Singles Chart. 19 June 2010.
  60. ↑ "Frisky" Lyrics. elyrics.net.
  61. ↑ ""Suit & Tie" lyrics Archived 2013-02-12 at the Wayback Machine ", elyrics.net.
  62. ↑ "AllSaints Spitalfields Launches Partnership with Not For Sale", Yahoo! News , 1 December 2011.
  63. ↑ Faulkner, Ruth, "AllSaints to launch T-shirt line to support anti-human trafficking", Drapers Online, 31 August 2011.
  64. ↑ Faulkner, Ruth, "AllSaints Releases UK Manufacturing Film", Drapers Online. 12 December 2011.
  65. ↑ "Voices of the Cloth: A Documentary Film", YouTube. 23 November 2011.
  66. ↑ "UK retail sector pledges to reach net-zero emissions by 2040". edie.net. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.