Allsaints

AllSaints is a British fashion retailer headquartered in London, UK.La Ferla, Ruth,
The Romance of Jack the Ripper
, ''New York Times'', 8 June 2010.Smith, Adam,

", ''Fast Company'', 1 October 2010.Company Info
. AllSaints Official Website. 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, US, Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China.

History

Founding (1994–1998)

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.Mattioli, Dana.,
PE Firm Bows Out of Fashion Shop AllSaints
, ''Wall Street Journal'' Deal Journal Blog, 22 March 2012.AllSaints Fashion – Clothing, Accessories, Jewellery & Footwear
", ''London Fashion Review'', 10 March 2011. ''Updated 12 November 2011.''Weir, Laura
Stuart Trevor profile
''Drapers Online''. 20 October 2008. 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.Finch, Julia
AllSaints Go Marching In
''The Guardian''. 11 June 2010.Martinez, Amy

. ''Seattle Times''. 5 May 2010. The first stand-alone AllSaints store was opened in Foubert Place off Carnaby Street in London on AllSaints Day in 1997.AllSaints Spitalfields Rocks Lincoln Road Mall
. ''South Beach Magazine''. 28 December 2009.Lion Capital and Goode Partners to Acquire AllSaints Spitalfields
", ''AngelNews'', 6 May 2011. The company's first womenswear collection followed the next year in 1998.Waight, Emma.
What's in Store at AllSaints
", ''clothes.org.uk''. 4 April 2012.

Growth and expansion (1999–2018)

By mid-2004, AllSaints had expanded to 10 stores in the UK.Stanford Buys Stake in AllSaints as its Expansion Push Continues
, ''Retail Week'', 24 September 2004. 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. In December 2005, Stanford bought Trevor's stake in the company as well. In 2006, AllSaints sold a 35% stake in the company to Icelandic investment firm, Baugur Group, with Kevin Stanford remaining the majority shareholder.Ruddick, Graham,
Retail Entrepreneur Kevin Stanford in Talks to Buy AllSaints Stake
, ''The Telegraph'', 7 February 2009. In late 2006, the company launched its e-commerce website.AllSaints Spitalfields
. drivebusiness.com.

In 2009-2010, AllSaints rapidly expanded globally,AllSaints Spitalfields Sale Continues
", ''EPR'', 19 January 2012.Thompson, James,

, ''The Independent'', 29 April 2010. launching a US-specific e-commerce site and opening its first US store in New York.Fair, S. S.,
The Samurai Shopper Takes a Pal
, ''New York Times'' T Magazine. 18 July 2011. 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.AllSaints Spitalfields Continue Widely Acclaimed Basement Sessions
, ''EPR'', 17 February 2012.Jones, Sandra,
Retailers Tap into iPad, Hoping Device Will Help You Buy
, ''Chicago Tribune'', 21 February 2011. By 2010, the cost of North American expansion was £43 million. Approximately half of the revenues now come from overseas.

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

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. 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.Hawkes, Alex,
AllSaints Saved by Lion Capital
, ''The Guardian'', 5 May 2011. ''Amended 9 May 2011''.AllSaints Fashion Chain Saved From Collapse
, ''The Guardian'', 5 May 2011."AllSaints Rescued by Private Equity Firms"
''Just-Style''. 5 May 2011.Holland, Tiffany
Dixons Etail Boss Joins AllSaints Global Push
''Drapers Online''. 2 June 2018. Lion Capital effectively saved AllSaints from collapse, which would have resulted in the loss of 3,000 jobs.Gray, Rebecca,
Saviour rescues All Saints stores
, ''Evening Times''. 6 May 2011. The firm began to take an active role in day-to-day management and hired 8 new top executives to manage the company. In 2012, Wil Beedle, formerly men’s design director, was appointed Chief Creative Officer, overseeing the design and creative vision for all product categories.

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

, ''The Telegraph'', 6 May 2011.

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.

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

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

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. In the year to February 2019, AllSaints' revenues grew to £331 million. 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.

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.  

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.

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

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. This included four months’ trading performance of John Varvatos, which was acquired by AllSaints in October 2021. In the same period, the company’s operating profit grew to £10.1 million, compared to £0.7 million in the previous year. 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.

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. 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. The results included a full year of trading for John Varvatos, the New York-based alternative luxury menswear brand.

Products and aesthetic

AllSaints sells menswear, womenswear, footwear, and accessories through its department store locations, stand-alone retail stores and its website.Williams, Erin.
AllSaints Spitalfields Opens its Doors in Georgetown
, ''Washington Post'' The Style Blog, 11 July 2011.AllSaints Spitalfields
, ''New York Magazine''. The brand launched its first comprehensive handbag line, "The Capital Collection", in September 2015.

In popular culture

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). Young American and British celebrities are seen and photographed wearing AllSaints clothes to events and entering or leaving AllSaints stores.Chiang, Bee-Shyuan,
Dressing Against Character
, ''New York Times'', 14 October 2011.Chiang, Bee-Shyuan

''New York Times'', 1 December 2011.Emma Watson Hearts AllSaints
", ''LOOK Magazine'', 19 September 2008.Zac's Heavenly Body is Too Hot to Handle
, ''X17'', 12 February 2010.

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.AllSaints Announces Basement Session with the Legendary DJ Harvey
, ''Houston Chronicle'', 28 February 2012. AllSaints hosts a series of live music performances in Los Angeles titled "The LA Sessions". including global artists such as OneRepublic 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".Archive Chart
''UK Singles Chart''. 19 June 2010.
''elyrics.net''. 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"."Suit & Tie" lyrics
", ''elyrics.net''.

Activism and philanthropy

In addition to music, AllSaints is also active in social causes and public service.AllSaints Spitalfields Launches Partnership with Not For Sale
, ''Yahoo! News'', 1 December 2011. 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.Faulkner, Ruth,
AllSaints to launch T-shirt line to support anti-human trafficking
, ''Drapers Online'', 31 August 2011. Later that year, AllSaints released a short documentary titled ''Voices of the Cloth'' intended to promote British design and manufacturing.Faulkner, Ruth,
AllSaints Releases UK Manufacturing Film
, ''Drapers Online''. 12 December 2011.Voices of the Cloth: A Documentary Film
, ''YouTube''. 23 November 2011.

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 emissions by 2040.

References

External links

*

Official UAE website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allsaints (Clothing)
Clothing brands
Clothing companies established in 1994
Retail companies established in 1994
Clothing brands of the United Kingdom
Clothing retailers of England
Clothing companies of England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom