Edinburgh Woollen Mill
 | |
| Private limited company | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarters | Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people |
Drew Stevenson (founder) David Stevenson (first chairman, proprietor of first retail store) Philip Day (chief executive) |
| Products | Clothing, gifts and souvenirs |
| Parent | The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (Group) Ltd |
| Subsidiaries |
Jane Norman Peacocks Ponden Home |
| Website |
www |
|
Footnotes / references 314 UK Stores, 192 EWM branded | |
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) is a Langholm based clothing retailer targeting men and women over the age of 40.[1]
The company was founded in 1946 by Drew Stevenson as the Langholm Dyeing and Finishing Company, dyeing wool yarn to order. His eldest son, David, until recently the chairman of the EWM Group, opened the first retail store in Randolph Place, Edinburgh, in 1970. In 1972, the first English store was opened in Carlisle. 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.
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.
Operations
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (Group) Ltd (EWM Group) is now the holding company for three core brands: Edinburgh Woollen Mill; Jane Norman; Peacocks. The group owns 314 stores in the UK, comprising:
- 192 EWM branded stores
- 120 Ponden Home stores
- 94 stores under individual local fascias, with product ranges heavily weighted towards locally themed gifts and souvenirs
- 28 sites selling all of the groups concepts under individual fascias
- A number of tourist attractions are also owned by the EWM group, including: the Scottish Deer Centre near St Andrews, which comprises a 55 acres (22 ha) deer park; and the Scottish Wool Centre in Perthshire.
On 22 February 2012, it was announced that EWM had purchased the Peacocks clothing retail brand, 388 Stores, concessions, the headquarters in Cardiff and logistics functions in Wales. 224 stores were not sold to EWM, resulting in 3,100 immediate job losses.[2][3]
EWM placed Jane Norman into administration in June 2014, but retained the brand and stock to sell as an online-only business.[4]
References
- ↑ Edinburgh Woollen Mill
- ↑ "Peacocks' HQ saved in buyout deal but 3,000 jobs lost". 22 February 2012.
- ↑ "Peacocks takeover: Edinburgh Woollen Mill buy retailer but 3,100 jobs lost - Scroll down for store closures". BBC News. 22 February 2012.
- ↑ Wood, Zoe (24 June 2014). "Fashion retailer Jane Norman stores placed in administration". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2014.