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Company Profile - Arcadia Group

Colgrave House, 70 Berners St.
London W1T 3NL, UK

Phone: 44-20-7636-8040
Fax: 44-20-7927-0577
Website: www.arcadiagroup.co.uk
Ticker Symbol: AG (London Stock Exchange)

Key Facts

Second-largest clothing retailer in the U.K. (behind Marks & Spencer).
Encompasses some of the biggest brands in England, such as Burton Menswear, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Hawkshead, Miss Selfridge, Topshop / Topman, and Wallis.
Takeover bid from Bhs retail chain owner Philip Green was accepted in late 2002.
Key Financial Facts
2001 revenue: $2,753.6
1-yr. growth rate: -3 percent

Personnel Highlights
Number of employees: 22,066
1-yr. growth rate: -14.6 percent

Company Overview
With about 1,300 retail stores in the United Kingdom, London-based Arcadia Group is the country’s second-largest retailer. The company owns numerous retail chains, covering the men’s, women’s, youth, and outdoor clothing markets, and operates more than 300 franchised stores in 20 countries. Founded in 1904 as a single tailor shop in Chesterfield, England, the company became a favorite among the country’s burgeoning middle class for its affordable, quality men’s suits.

By 1919, Arcadia operated 37 stores; within two decades, it had grown to more than 600. The company began diversifying its holdings in the 1970s, branching out into the high-end brand name market with its 1998 purchase of top men’s clothing retailer Wade-Smith. Arcadia cut some 300 jobs in 1999 to offset waning sales, but also made two more acquisitions that year. In June 1999, the company launched Zoom, an Internet shopping site.

Then, in November 2001, Arcadia began the process of discussing a proposed £550 million takeover offer from Baugur, Iceland’s biggest retailer and a 20 percent Arcadia shareholder. In the end, Arcadia accepted a takeover bid of £770 million from Bhs retail chain owner Philip Green in September 2002.

Major Line of Business :Retail

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