Burton (retailer)
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| Burton | |
| Private | |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Headquarters | Colegrave House, 70 Berners Street, London, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Arcadia Group |
| Website | www |
Burton is a large United Kingdom high street clothing retailer. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but is now a trading name of Arcadia Group Brands Ltd, part of the Arcadia Group.[1] There are over 400 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland. It has also expanded to branches at out of town sites since the 1980s, such as at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the West Midlands, where it has had a store since November 1989.
History
The company was founded by Montague Burton in Chesterfield in 1904 under the name of The Cross-Tailoring Company.[2] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1929 by which time it had 400 stores, factories and mills.[2]
After World War II, Montague Burton among the suppliers of demob suits to the British government for demobilising servicemen, comprising jacket, trousers, waistcoat, shirt and underwear.[2] It has been speculated that this is the origin of the phrase "the full monty". In 1946, the Company acquired the Peter Robinson women's fashion chain.[3] Montague Burton died in 1952. By this time, the company was the largest multiple tailor in the world.
Burton was the official clothing supplier to the England national football team for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1996 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup championships.[2] In 1998 the company changed its name to Arcadia Group.[4]
The Burton company archives are held at the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Leeds.[5]
Architecture
Beginning in 1923, Burton began to acquire freehold sites in order to build its own custom designed stores.[6] Prominent town centre corner sites were preferred and the shops often moved a few doors along the same street in order to acquire the corner site. Leeds-based architect Harry Wilson was hired at this time and developed the Burton "house style" building design. In 1931 Burton took over Wilson's practice to make it the in-house architecture department.[7] Wilson was replaced as chief architect by Nathaniel Martin in 1937. [6]
This Burton in-house architecture was Art Deco in style. Individual stores vary from the more restrained red-brick with neoclassical scroll headed columns to fully fledged Art Deco with glazed white faience tile, geometric patterns and stylised elephant heads. However, there are also many standard elements such as a wide polished black granite band above the shop windows for signage, metal vent grates bearing the company logo, billiard halls on the upper levels, window lights showing the locations of other Burton stores, and mosaic titles - sometimes including the company logo - in the doorways.
At ground level, foundation stones were often placed by Montague Burton's four children, Barabara, Stanley, Arnold and Raymond. Each store might have one or several foundation stones, each bearing one name and the year. For example: "THIS STONE LAID BY RAYMOND MONTAGUE BURTON 1937". The children were quite young when these stones were laid. Stanley Howard was born in 1914 [8] and laid a stone for the Nottingham Beastmarket Hill store in 1924. At least four stores bear stones laid by Montague's wife "Lady Burton", and a number in the mid to late 1930s were laid by Austin Stephen Burton who may have been a grandchild.[9]
Whilst some of these Burton buildings have been destroyed over the years, many are still standing and some of them still have active snooker clubs upstairs. Some are still occupied by Burton stores (often a combined Burton and Dorothy Perkins store) but many have changed used. McDonald's first three restaurants in the UK were opened in former Burton stores in 1974 and 1975 as the company was selling property at that time.[10]
Most of the Scottish stores are listed with Historic Environment Scotland, protecting them from changes. The Isle of Man building and Dublin and Waterford in the Republic of Ireland also have protected status. However, only six stores in England and Wales are listed buildings, leaving over 200 with no protection from future changes or demolition. Recent years have seen stores demolished in Plymouth (2004)[11] and Neasden (2012).[12]
Stores
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Style
Burton combines a long heritage of tailoring with a modern take on casual wear. Burton regularly include celebrities in their advertising, featuring various Burton Boys over periods of the retailing calendar, targeting their market audience of 18- to 30-year-old males. Music personalities such as Lemar and Trevor Nelson, and television presenter Steve Jones have all appeared in such campaigns. Notable sporting figures such as Amir Khan have also appeared in advertising.
A Burton store's team typically consists of a range of sales advisors, from the ages of 16 to 50+, who offer a variety of selling and service techniques. Younger sales advisors provide an important connection to the modern fashion market, and support their more experienced colleagues, who are able to offer knowledgeable advice on traditional tailoring.
Charity
Burton worked closely with the Bobby Moore Fund, an arm of Cancer Research UK funding research into bowel cancer, in the lead up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore died of bowel cancer in 1993.[13]
In November 2009, Burton sought to bring back "The Burton" through their support of the Movember campaign in order to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity. 'The Burton' moustache style was created by Montague Burton, and was styled upon two influential moustache types; the English and the Handlebar. It is full bodied and curves down across the mouth. The tips should be slightly waxed and it should never be oversized or exaggerated.
To support men taking part in the Movember challenge, Burton also developed a Facebook page to use to gain support amongst a network of friends and raise awareness of the charity.
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Arcadia History
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ West Yorkshire Archive Service, Leeds
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Charity begins on the High Street
