St Michael was a brand owned and used by British retailer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
between 1927 and 2000.
History
In 1875, the firm of
N. Corah and Sons
N. Corah and Sons was a textile industry, textile manufacturer of hosiery and clothing located in Leicester, England. At one time it was the largest knitted fabric producer in Europe, and its products had a major influence on the development and p ...
of
Leicester registered the St Margaret brand for their hosiery products. The name originated because their factory, which became one of the largest hosiery factories in Europe, was in the parish of St Margaret in Leicester. In 1926, Corahs entered into an agreement to supply Marks & Spencer directly rather than through a wholesaler, and this had the potential to bring them into conflict with the Wholesale Textile Association. In order to protect their other distribution channels, Corahs sought to develop an alternative brand name for their goods sold through Marks & Spencer. The name agreed by
Simon Marks
Simon Marks, 1st Baron Marks of Broughton (9 July 1888 – 8 December 1964), was an English retail businessman and baron, the son of Michael Marks, the co-founder of major British multinational company Marks & Spencer.
Biography
Early life
Ma ...
was St Michael, possibly after his father and co-founder of Marks & Spencer,
Michael Marks
Michael Marks ( yi, מיכאל מארקס Polish: ''Michał Marks''; 1859? – 31 December 1907) was a businessman and entrepreneur, who with Thomas Spencer co-founded the British retail chain Marks & Spencer.
Biography
Marks was born into a ...
but also because it could be linked in the public mind with the ''St Margaret'' brand which had a reputation for quality.
The name was introduced in 1927 and registered as a trademark in 1928.
At first it applied only to products produced by Corahs, but by 1950 and for the next fifty years, almost all goods sold by Marks & Spencer used the St Michael brand.
The brand was dropped in 2000 as part of a general rebranding.
For the next few years, the St Michael name was adopted as the 'St Michael Quality Promise' on the back of food products, on the side of delivery vehicles and on in-store receipts.
In September 2021 Marks & Spencer announced they would begin selling clothes using the brand again
after it gained popularity on vintage clothing resale websites.
See also
*
List of Marks & Spencer brands
The following list of Marks & Spencer brands details the various brand names under which retailer Marks & Spencer sells or has sold its present and former product lines over the years.
Product line history
St. Michael
St Michael is a brand ...
References
External links
Images of clothing labels bearing the brandat the Vintage Fashion Guild
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael (brand)
Marks & Spencer
Products introduced in 1928
2000 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
British brands