Austin Reed (retailer)
 Flagship store on Regent Street, 2011 | |
| Austin Reed | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Founder | Austin Leonard Reed |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Products | Clothing, bags and accessories |
| Owner | Edinburgh Woollen Mill (trademarks) |
Austin Reed was a British fashion retailer founded in 1900; the brand was acquired by Edinburgh Woollen Mill in 2016.
NKVD officer Vladimir Pravdin wore an Austin Reed suit he purchased from its Regent Street store, abandoning it in a Swiss hotel as he fled after his 1937 assasination of Ignace Reiss.[1]
History
[edit]Austin Reed was founded by tailor Austin Leonard Reed (1873–1954).
Timeline
[edit]- 1900 - First shop opened in Fenchurch Street
- 1911 - Opening of flagship store in Regent Street
- 1929 - First international outlet on the RMS Aquitania
- 1930 - Opening of Regent Street Barber Shop
- 1936 - Opening of a concession on the RMS Queen Mary
- 1946 - Opening of a concession on the RMS Queen Elizabeth
- 1940s - Winston Churchill was a customer
- 1980s - Launch of Austin Reed's womenswear
- 2000 - UK Manufacturing ended and Crewe factory closed[2]
- 2005 - Kosugi-Sangyo was the Austin Reed ready-to-wear license holder in Japan[3]
- 2009 - Austin Reed Group acquired Viyella brand
- 2011 - Move from 103-113 Regent Street to 100 Regent Street
- 2016 - Entered administration. Five concessions located in Boundary Mills outlet villages were retained by Edinburgh Woollen Mill.[4]
Austin Reed purchased retailer Country Casuals, rebranding it CC.[citation needed]
In popular culture
[edit]Austin Reed is mentioned by Captain Peacock on the British situation comedy, Are You Being Served.[citation needed] Cast member John Inman had worked at Austin Reed as a tie clerk in the early 1950s.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Usdin, Steven (Spring 2024). "The Face of Soviet Espionage in the United States during the Stalin Era: Vladimir Pravdin, "Man of Truth"". Journal of Cold War Studies. 26 (2): 78–122. doi:10.1162/jcws_a_01211. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via MIT.
- ^ "Austin Reed is dressing in smart casual". 6 April 2000. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
- ^ "Retailer Austin Reed enters administration". Reuters. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ Webber, Richard (1999). "I'm Free! – The Complete Are You Being Served?". Orion Books.
External links
[edit]- Official website Archived 13 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine
Media related to Austin Reed at Wikimedia Commons
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- Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom
- Clothing brands of the United Kingdom
- British companies established in 1900
- British royal warrant holders
- 1900 establishments in England
- Shops in London
- Suit makers
- Retail companies established in 1900
- Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom
- United Kingdom retail company stubs
- The Edinburgh Woollen Mill companies