 | |
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1969; 57 years ago (1969) Taunton,Somerset, UK |
| Founder | Tom Singh |
| Headquarters | Weymouth,Dorset,United Kingdom: (Corporate Services) London,United Kingdom: (Creative, Digital and Productive departments) |
Number of locations | Approx. 570 (2021)[1] |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Clothing |
| Revenue |  GBP £1,528 million (2014)[3] |
| GBP £805.9 million (2014)[3] | |
| Owner | Brait SA |
| Website | www |
New Look is a British global fashion retailer with a chain ofhigh street shops. It was founded in 1969. The chain sells womenswear, menswear, and clothing for teens. New Look was owned by private equity groupsApax Partners andPermira, and founder Tom Singh,[4] until May 2015 when it was acquired by Brait SE (SA) for £780 million.[5]
New Look was founded byTom Singh inTaunton,Somerset, in 1969.[5] Since then the company has expanded and previously operated across a chain of over 900 shops internationally, having opened inIreland in 2003,[6]Belgium in 2006, and also having had a presence inFrance, theNetherlands,Romania,Malta,Malaysia,South Korea,Singapore,Thailand,Indonesia,United Arab Emirates,China,Germany,Russia,Bahrain,Saudi Arabia,Azerbaijan andPoland, and having had a staff of over 18,000.[citation needed] The group had a turnover of £1,147 million in 2008 with profits of £180 million.[7]
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In 2004, the company withdrew from the stock market and was taken back to being a privately owned business by founder Tom Singh and chief executive Phil Wrigley, and private equity investorsPermira,Apax Partners and Quillian Investments.[8]On 26 April 2007, a fire occurred at a New Look branch inOxford Street,London.[9] The subsequent investigation revealed an extensive catalogue of failings relating to fire safety precautions and measures. The company subsequently pleaded guilty to criminal charges and on 25 November 2009, was fined a total of £400,000 with £136,052 costs.[10] In 2010, the fines were upheld by the Court of Appeal.[11]
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In 2008, New Look continued their expansion in the UK and opened their largest shop at the time in Liverpool One Shopping Centre.[citation needed] In February 2009, the company's fortieth anniversary year, New Look opened their first shop inRussia.[12]
In July 2010, New Look opened its three-hundredth shop inGlasgow Fort Shopping Park. The shop is 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2). It was built on the site of a formerBorders unit.
The largest New Look shop in the world opened inDublin,Ireland on 4 November 2010, located at theJervis Shopping Centre.[13] It was the twenty-ninth New Look shop in Ireland. Many of the outlets in Singapore have been closed, except CityLink Mall, City Square Mall and the latest opened shop,Republic Polytechnic. CityLink Mall and City Square Mall was closed down in October 2019 before COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2015, New Look was purchased by Brait SE; had 94 shops in China, and 852 globally.[5][14]
In June 2017, New Look launched their "My Life My Style My Look" campaign[15] and made history when they announced British modelGeorgie Aldous as their first ever male model in a full face of make-up.[16]
In 2018, New Look closed 60 shops in the United Kingdom and withdrew from international markets.[17] In 2020, as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, New Look filed forChapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States.[18]
In February 2025, theHigh Court of Ireland appointed provisional liquidators to New Look's Irish operations after substantial losses over the previous four years. On 20 February 2025, it was announced that New Look was to exit the Irish market.[19] The company was criticised in late February 2025 for refusing to accept its own gift vouchers during its closing-down sale.[20]
