{{Infobox company
, name = Rubicon Retail
, foundation = 2002
, defunct = 2006
, location_city =
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, location_country = United Kingdom
, industry =
Retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and th ...
, subsid = Warehouse,
Principles
A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the la ...
, products =
Clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...
,
Accessories
Accessory may refer to:
* Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal
In anatomy
* Accessory bone
* Accessory muscle
* Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus
* Accessory nerve
In arts and entertainment
* Accessory ...
,
Shoes
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the Foot, human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cult ...
Rubicon Retail was a British retail group which traded between 2002 and 2006.
The firm was formed in 2002 when a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of ...
of several firms then owned by
Arcadia Group
Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (B ...
took place. This resulted in high street chains
Warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, ...
and
Principles
A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the la ...
, and catalogue retailers Hawkshead and Racing Green, being transferred from Arcadia to Rubicon. Warehouse had been part of Arcadia since 1999, having previously been part of
Sears plc
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999.
History
The business was founded by John and Will ...
, and Principles had been founded by Arcadia's predecessor Burton Group in 1984.
During its lifetime, Rubicon sold off Hawkshead and Racing Green, and purchased the Shoe Studio Group, which operated from a series of upmarket shoe retail stores.
In 2006, Rubicon was taken over by
Mosaic Fashions
Mosaic Fashions hf was the company of several fashion brands. The company has 1,760 stores and concessions in the UK, Europe and the USA, 234 Franchise stores in 44 countries and 93 joint venture stores including 84 concessions in China.
Histo ...
, owner of the
Karen Millen
Karen Millen is a British online women's clothing retailer specialising in tailoring, coats and evening wear. Formerly a high street chain with stores throughout the United Kingdom, United States, Indonesia, Austria, Denmark, Russia, the Republ ...
,
Whistles
Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...
,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment[Coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...]
chains. In 2009, following the collapse of Mosaic, Warehouse ended up in the hands of Mosaic's successor,
Aurora Fashions
Aurora Fashions was a holding company of several retail fashion brands, formed in 2009 to purchase a number of businesses from the collapsed Mosaic Fashions. The company operates over 1,250 stores in 38 countries, including franchises, under the ...
, with Principles ultimately being bought out by
Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
- which had been part of the same company as Principles (the pre-Arcadia Burton Group) between 1984 and 1998, and had a number of Principles concessions in its stores.
Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 2002
Retail companies established in 2002
Retail companies disestablished in 2006
Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom