Purepay Retail Limited, trading as The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, is a British clothing retailer founded in 1946 by Drew Stevenson. It is headquartered in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, England. In November 2002, Philip Day led a management buy-out of the retailer. The Edinburgh Woollen Mill acquired Ponden Mill (later Ponden Homes) in January 2008, Peacocks in February 2012, and Bonmarché in April 2019. The retailer also owned Jane Norman, before closing it in May 2018. In April 2021, Peacocks was moved to a separate sister company.

History

In 1946, The Edinburgh Woollen Mill was founded by Drew Stevenson as the Langholm Dyeing and Finishing Company Limited, dyeing wool yarn to order. His eldest son, David Stevenson, opened the first retail store in Randolph Place,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, in 1970. In 1972, the first English store was opened in

. Having been owned by several equity holdings over the previous decade the company was bought out by the newly formed EWM Group and was then subject to a secondary, management takeover in 2002, led by the current chief executive, Phillip Day. The company's core Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores have traditionally targeted men and women over the age of 40. In 2011, the group bought Jane Norman out of administration, having bought Ponden Mills, and merged it with 80 stores bought from the collapsed Rosebys home furnishings store to create Ponden Home. On 22 February 2012, it was announced that EWM had purchased the Peacocks clothing retail brand along with 388 stores and concessions, its headquarters and logistics functions. Although over 200 stores were not acquired at this time, the chain has embarked on a programme of expansion since. In 2016 EWM purchased the Austin Reed brand, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

founded in 1900, The group also own James Pringle Weavers. As of 2016, the retailer owned 88 tourist shops and visitor centres trading under various fasciasAbout Us
- The Edinburgh Woollen Mill. Retrieved 2 May 2016. (e.g. James Pringle Weavers) and 27 destination sites combining all the Group's concepts (e.g.

Masson Mill Sir Richard Arkwright's Masson Mill is a water-powered cotton spinning mill situated on the west bank of the River Derwent in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire in England. This mill was built in 1783. It forms part of the Derwent Valley Mills, a Worl ...

) EWM placed Jane Norman into administration in June 2014, but retained the brand and stock to sell as an online-only business. In April 2017, EWM made a substantial loan to

Carlisle United Football Club Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. This was seen by some to be a move aimed at eventually taking full control of the club. In May 2017, it was understood that EWM had bought the Jaeger brand and debt (but not the main company, or payments to its suppliers) from its former owner,

Better Capital Better Capital is a British Private equity firm founded by Jon Moulton in 2009. Investments Better Capital has had investments in the following companies: * In February 2010, Better Capital acquired Gardner Group from The Carlyle Group * In April ...

. In May 2017, EWM opened the first Days (department store), in what had been the

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premises in Guildhall Square,

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

, which will house Peacocks, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Home, Jane Norman, and Austin Reed brands. This was intended to be the first of a chain of Days department stores. In May 2020,

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or BGMEA () is a nationwide trade organization of garments manufacturers in Bangladesh and is located in the capital city of Dhaka. It plays a pivotal role in the country's earning secto ...

in a letter to Philip Day had warned that they would blacklist EWM for non-payment of suppliers in Bangladesh and not returning their calls. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

resulted in orders being cancelled or retailers asking for heavy discounts which led to workers going without pay or being fired. In October 2020, EWM, which at that time had 24,000 employees, announced it planned to restructure. In November 2020, Edinburgh Woollen Mill was placed into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. In January 2021, it was announced that Marks & Spencer had acquired the Jaeger fashion brand but not Jaeger's 63 shops and 13 concessions, for £5 million. In January 2021, it was announced that Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Homes and Bonmarché had been bought out of administration by an international consortium of investors who injected fresh funds into the business (led by the existing management team). In April 2021, it was announced that Peacocks had been brought out of administration by a senior executive backed by an international consortium of investors, removing it from The Edinburgh Woollen Mill to a sister company. The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group's chief operating officer Steve Simpson took over the business, as CEO.

References

External links

*
Corporation Website
{{Authority control 1946 establishments in Scotland Clothing companies established in 1946 Clothing companies of Scotland Clothing retailers of Scotland Companies based in Carlisle, Cumbria Companies based in the Scottish Borders Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Scottish brands Knitwear manufacturers British companies established in 1946 Woollen mills The Edinburgh Woollen Mill companies