Chapel to Duke of York's Headquarters 03

Jigsaw is a fashion clothing retailer with store and concession partners across Britain,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Australia. The company is based on

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many cen ...

Road in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, south west London. The group turned over £102m for the 2017/2018 period. It has circa 80 stores across the UK (as of August 2019). Jigsaw's sister company Kew 159 closed in 2012 following heavy financial losses.

History

The company was started in 1970 by John Robinson, and is now jointly owned by Best Dressed Group and Robinson Property. Robinson (born 1948), who grew up in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, went on a holiday to Turkey and brought back a sheepskin coat. People wanted a coat like his, so he and Webster went back to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

and filled an old Post Office van with sixty coats and sold them back in the UK. Robinson lives on a farm in Wiltshire. The company launched menswear in 1994, and produced it successfully for five years, selling clothes designed by Chris Bailey. In 1998, the same year that the menswear range was bringing in an annual turnover of £15 million, a Jigsaw ensemble was chosen as the men's outfit for the

Dress of the Year The Dress of the Year is an annual fashion award run by the Fashion Museum, Bath from 1963. Each year since 1963, the Museum has asked a fashion journalist to select a dress or outfit that best represents the most important new ideas in contempor ...

. In 1999, Bailey bought out Jigsaw Menswear, rebranded it 'Uth' (pronounced 'Youth'), and offered more adventurous designs at higher prices, only to close down in 2002. In 2012, Jigsaw relaunched its menswear brand under the direction of Frances Walker, formerly of

Nicole Farhi Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE (born 25 July 1946) is a former French fashion designer, now sculptor born in Nice, France. Life Born in France Farhi is the daughter of Sephardic Jews from Turkey Her father sold rugs and lighting. She attended s ...

. Jigsaw Junior was established in 1996 to further extend the range, however, this line consists only of girls clothing. The same year they opened stores in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. In November 2006,

Catherine Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

became employed at the company as an assistant accessories buyer. She worked four days a week during a

part-time Part-time can refer to: * Part-time job, a job that has fewer hours a week than a full-time job * Part-time student, a student, usually in higher education, who takes fewer course credits than a full-time student * Part Time Part Time (styliz ...

schedule to manage the demands of her high-profile relationship with

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

before leaving to work at the

family business A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...

a year later.

References

External links

December 2005 article in ''The Times''

December 2006 article in ''The Daily Telegraph''
{{Authority control Clothing companies based in London Kew, London Companies based in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames British companies established in 1972 Clothing companies established in 1972 Retail companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in England 1970s fashion Clothing companies of England Clothing retailers of England