Hilco Streambank is seeking offers to acquire certain intellectual property assets related to Arcadia Group Limited (in Administration) (the “Company”), on behalf of its Joint Administrators Matthew David Smith, Daniel Francis Butters and Robert Scott Fishman, all of Deloitte LLP (the “Joint Administrators”).
Hilco Streambank is seeking offers to acquire the “Arcadia” brand and related intellectual property assets.
This is a unique opportunity to acquire the corporate brand behind a former fashion empire. Previously comprised of eight of the high street’s best-loved fashion brands, the Arcadia Group retail giant operated over 2,500 outlets at its peak and employed over 19,000 people worldwide prior to Administration.
Arcadia’s presence was felt across the world, with over 1,100 stores traded under sub-brands in 34 countries outside the UK and shipping to 107 countries through the Arcadia Group’s former brands’ transactional websites.
The Arcadia brand is associated with a rich heritage. Arcadia’s story began in the early 1900s when 18-year-old Lithuanian émigré Montague Burton arrived in Britain, borrowing £100 to set up his eponymous menswear business in Chesterfield. Within six years he had established a chain of Burton stores selling ready-to-wear and bespoke suits.
By the end of the Second World War, Burton was clothing around a fifth of British men, and the move to womenswear came in 1946. By the time of Burton’s death in 1952, the business had become one of the largest multiple tailors in the world.
In the mid-1960s, Arcadia unveiled Topshop – described as a “young fashion department” within the Peter Robinson chain. In 1970, Topman launched and big names including Evans and Dorothy Perkins were acquired, with the first stand-alone Topshop also opening its doors. The Burton Group demerged in 1997, giving rise to Arcadia, which then acquired the further popular fashion brands Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Outfit.
In 2002, Arcadia became part of Taveta Investments. It expanded its digital business rapidly and grew internationally, opening branches in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as well as a large number of franchises prior to Administration.
A prominent player on the British high street and beyond, the Arcadia Group historically generated consolidated revenues in excess of £1bn.
Arcadia Brand
The Arcadia brand name has been in use since 1967 when the Burton Group, originally founded in 1903 as The Cross-Tailoring Company, rebranded as Arcadia Group.
A retail giant, the Arcadia Group owned some of the world’s most loved and progressive fashion retail brands.
Transitioning from Arcadia Group Limited’s registered name to the colloquially used Arcadia, the Company created a succinct and memorable corporate brand.
Arcadia employed a minimalist colour palette in its corporate branding, referencing the industry mantra that ‘Black is always in fashion’, reflecting the Arcadia brand’s position as an iconic fashion house.
Reflective of Arcadia’s evolution and modernity, the Arcadia corporate brand is widely recognised as a symbol of excellence.
Arcadia’s corporate identity complemented the diverse stories of each of the business’s former industry-leading fashion brands. Its vision was to be the most-loved home of inspiring fashion brands with a mission to create and deliver fashion that customers love through great stores, fantastic online experiences and brilliant people.
Arcadia attracted significant media attention from outlets including the BBC, The Guardian, The Independent and The Financial Times.
The brand is extremely well-known in the UK and internationally.
The Arcadia brand name and logos are protected by UK and international trade marks.
A full trade mark schedule is available to download here.
The Company has a portfolio of domain names, including the high traffic arcadiagroup.co.uk domain name.
From December 31 2019 to January 1 2020, the Arcadia website attracted approximately 986k users and 83k returning visitors.
A complete domain name schedule is available to download here.
Offers for the intellectual property assets are due May 26, 2021 at 4pm BST.
All expressions of interest and offers should be directed to Hilco Streambank in writing. A Bid Submission Form for submitting offers is available on request.
For information relating to the related Outfit intellectual property sale see here.
The bidder acknowledges that Hilco acts as an agent for the Joint Administrators of the Company who offer for sale only what right, title and interest the Company possess in the assets. The information provided has not been verified by Hilco and bidders are deemed to have carried out their own due diligence.
VAT at 20% will be added to the price if applicable. A buyer’s premium of 10% applies to this sale. Legal completion to occur within 5 business days of bid acceptance. Hilco Streambank’s full Terms and Conditions apply.
