Arcadia Group

Arcadia Group plc, previously known as Burton Group plc, is the second largest clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, with more than 2,000 outlets in downtowns and shopping centers throughout the country. With two exceptions, the group's store formats primarily sell private-label apparel. These formats are Evans, Principles for Women, Dorothy Perkins, and Top Shop (women's wear); and Burton Menswear, Top Man, Hawkshead, Racing Green, and Principles for Men (menswear). In mid-1998 Arcadia acquired Wade Smith, a retailer of designer brands, and launched SU214, a retailer of designer menswear, marking the group's first forays into the designer sector. The company also has ventured into home shopping via catalog marketing and Internet retailing and into overseas markets, with expectations for 200 outlets outside the United Kingdom by the end of 2000. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that the foundations of Arcadia Group were laid. In 1900, 15-year-old Meshe David Osinsky joined the thousands of Jews fleeing westward from Russian persecution. Osinsky evidently opened his first store in Holywell Street, Chesterfield, England, in 1904. The merchandise offered for sale consisted of inexpensive ready-made suits for men and boys' wear under the name Burton. Men's suits "noted for hard wear and perfect fit," to quote a contemporary advertisement, were offered from 11 shillings and ninepence, boys' suits "in endless variety" were sold for one shilling and ninepence, caps were sold at one penny, and shirts of emerald green flannel with yellow stripes were sold to Irish farm workers. Advertisements also solicited orders for "bespoke" (made to order) suits. In 1908 a second Burton shop was opened in Mansfield and in 1909 a third shop was opened in Sheffield. Also in 1909 Osinsky, who was to change his name to Montague Burton, married Sophia Marks, daughter of a furniture dealer. In the same year Osinsky also established the Progress Mills works in Leeds, setting up Elmwood Mills and the headquarters of the firm there in 1910. Between 1910 and the outbreak of World War I, 14 branches of the firm were created, mainly in the industrial towns of the Midlands and the North East. The number of branches had grown to 40 by 1919, including eight shops in Ireland. These were all to be stocked with clothing. There was also the mounting task of meeting the demand for uniforms, which the firm was under contract to supply--all this with a constantly changing labor force as men joined the war effort and were replaced by women. By the end of the war Elmwood Mills occupied five premises in Leeds, and the labor force had grown from 56 in 1914 to 500. Production was divided between civilian needs and contract requirements, which posed a problem. The firm either had to shelve half its productive capacity or expand the number of retail outlets. It chose the latter, and the number of shops grew from 40 in 1919 to 140 by 1922. The care and attention paid to the running of the branches was matched by that shown to the workforce, and the new factory building at Hudson Road facilitated this. Here it was possible to provide a fully equipped canteen for 2,000, serving a midday meal costing between four and ten pence, together with comprehensive welfare services. The motivation behind this provision was rooted in the belief that productivity and contentment of the workforce were positively related. When the new canteen was opened by the Princess Royal in 1934 it seated 8,000 workers, indicating the firm's growth. In 1929 the company became a public limited liability company with a capital of £4 million, having been a limited liability company since 1917. Montague Burton was knighted in 1931. For the rest of the 1930s the story was one of uninterrupted expansion. The number of shops had reached 595 by the outbreak of World War II. The success of retailing brought pressure on the departments at Hudson Road that produced the ready-to-wear suits, and there