Fat Face

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Fat Face
TypeClothing & Accessories
Key people
ProductsClothing
Footwear
Accessories
RevenueIncrease 200 million GBP (2013)[1]
OwnerBridgepoint Capital (55%)
Tim Slade (6%)
Jules Leaver (6%)
Fat Face Employees (13%)
Other (20%)
Websitewww.fatface.com
For the style of typeface, see fat face.
Fat Face, Putney Exchange, London (now closed)

Fat Face is a British lifestyle clothing and accessories retailer, based in Hampshire. 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 there were 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 Livingbridge for £5 million.[5] In 2005 Advent International, a private equity company, bought Livingbridge's interest in FatFace.[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] The company's sales were badly hit by the Great Recession, forcing Bridgepoint to write off 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.[citation needed] 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 stockholders.[1][7]

The Chief Executive is Liz Evans, who joined in March 2019 replacing Anthony Thompson.[10] Evans had previously run Oasis/Warehouse.[10] In 2013 Bridgepoint hired former Marks and Spencer Chief Executive Stuart Rose to be FatFace's Chairman; Rose replaced Alan Giles as Chairman.[11]

In March 2021 Fat Face revealed to customers and staff that they had been subject to a ransomware attack in January 2021[12][13][14] and paid $2 million ransom to Conti cyber criminals to unlock encrypted data.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Gareth Mackie (10 July 2014). "Fat Face profits rise despite flotation u-turn". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. ^ James Hall (22 January 2010). "Asda clothing boss Anthony Thompson defects to Fat Face". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Lina Saigol, Andrea Felsted (20 January 2014). "The ski bums who understood the bottom line". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 July 2014.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Jonathan Prynn (2 September 2004). "Fat Face pair could scoop £35m". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Isis set to land £20m in Fat Face market listing". The Scotsman. 7 February 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Fat Face bought". Retail Week. 9 May 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Scott Campbell (9 July 2014). "Fat Face reports sales rise after abandoned IPO plans". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Richard Fletcher (15 March 2010). "Fat Face loses £225m on write-offs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Fat Face : company profile". Retail Week. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Singh, Prachi (18 October 2018). "Liz Evans to join Fat Face as CEO in January 2019". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  11. ^ Jahshan, Elias (15 April 2019). "Lord Rose warns Mike Ashley over retail "oligopoly" ambitions". www.retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  12. ^ Collins, Barry. "FatFace Hack: Staff Are Told Bank Details May Have Been Stolen". Forbes. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Fat Face's 'Strictly Private' Data Breach Notification". www.bankinfosecurity.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. ^ Visavadia, Hemma (26 March 2021). "Fat Face reveals it was a victim of a cyber attack". Retail Sector. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Retailer FatFace pays $2m ransom to Conti cyber criminals". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

External links[]

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