Fat Face
| Clothing & Accessories | |
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Key people
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| Products | Clothing Footwear Accessories |
| Revenue |  200 million GBP (2013)[1] |
| Owner | Bridgepoint Capital (55%) Tim Slade (6%) Jules Leaver (6%) Fat Face Employees (13%) Other (20%) |
| Website | www |
Fat Face is a lifestyle clothing and accessories retailer, based in the UK. It was founded in 1988 by Tim Slade and Jules Leaver as a business selling T-shirts at ski resorts.[2][3] The company opened its first retail shop in 1993; as of 2014[update] there are 209 Fat Face stores in the UK and Ireland.[4][1]
History
The business was founded in 1988 in French ski resort Méribel by Tim Slade, a former policeman, and business graduate Jules Leaver. The pair bought T-shirts wholesale, had them printed with designs specific to the resort, and sold them to other skiers on the slopes - at first using the proceeds only to fund their own skiing.[3] They spent the following years travelling to different ski resorts, where they continued to produce and sell ski and outdoor-related clothing.[3] In 1993 they opened their first shop, on London's Fulham Road; they named it "Fat Face" after the Face de Bellevarde slope in Val-d'Isère.[3][4] In 2000 they sold 40% of the company to Edinburgh investment firm ISIS Equity Partners for £5 million.[5] In 2005, another private equity company, Advent International, bought ISIS's interest in the company.[6]
In 2007 Fat Face was acquired, for £360 million, by private equity group Bridgepoint Capital;[7] the sale netted Slade and Leaver £90 million.[8][2] The company's sales were badly hit by the Great Recession, forcing Bridgepoint to write-down half the company's value,[8] but improved in 2010 and again in 2011,[9] and Fat Face returned to a small profit in 2012.[10] Bridgepoint planned to float a quarter of the company on the London stock exchange in 2014, hoping to raise £110 million, but later cancelled the flotation due to lack of confidence by prospective institutional stockholders.[1][7]
The Chief Executive is Anthony Thompson, who joined in 2010 replacing Louise Barnes. Thompson had previously run Asda's George clothing brand and worked for Marks and Spencer in its clothing division.[2] In 2013 Bridgepoint hired former Marks and Spencer Chief Executive Stuart Rose to be Fat Face's Chairman; Rose was formerly Thompson's boss at M&S.[10] Rose replaced Alan Giles as Chairman.[10]
References
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