New Look (company)

History

New Look was founded by Tom Singh in Taunton, Somerset, in 1969. Since then the company has expanded and previously operated across a chain of over 900 shops internationally, having opened in Ireland in 2003, Belgium in 2006, and also having had a presence in France, the Netherlands, Romania, Malta, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, China, Germany, Russia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Poland, and having had a staff of over 18,000. The group had a turnover of £1,147 million in 2008 with profits of £180 million.[[File:New Look - Market Place (geograph 2075619).jpg|thumb|left|New Look, [[Pontefract]]]]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 investors Permira, Apax Partners and Quillian Investments.

On 26 April 2007, a fire occurred at a New Look branch in Oxford Street, London. 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. In 2010, the fines were upheld by the Court of Appeal.[[File:New Look, Cross Gates Centre (24th November 2019).jpg|thumb|New look in the current branding and revive refit in [[Cross Gates]], [[Leeds]] in 2019.]]In 2008, New Look continued their expansion in the UK and opened their largest shop at the time in Liverpool One Shopping Centre. In February 2009, the company's fortieth anniversary year, New Look opened their first shop in Russia.

In July 2010, New Look opened its three-hundredth shop in Glasgow Fort Shopping Park. The shop is 18000 sqft. It was built on the site of a former Borders unit.

The largest New Look shop in the world opened in Dublin, Ireland on 4 November 2010, located at the Jervis Shopping Centre. 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.

In June 2017, New Look launched their "My Life My Style My Look" campaign and made history when they announced British model Georgie Aldous as their first ever male model in a full face of make-up.

In 2018, New Look closed 60 shops in the United Kingdom and withdrew from international markets. In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Look filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States.

In February 2025, the High 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. The company was criticised in late February 2025 for refusing to accept its own gift vouchers during its closing-down sale.

References

References

1. "New Look Retail Group Limited Annual Report 2018".
2. "New Look Group Leadership Team".
3. "New Look Retail Group Limited Annual Report 2014".
4. Moulds, Josephine. (4 June 2013). "New Look returns to profit". The Guardian.
5. Farrell, Sean. (15 May 2015). "New Look snapped up by South African tycoon". The Guardian.
6. O'Donovan, Brian. (2025-02-20). "New Look to exit Ireland, 347 workers facing redundancy". RTE.
7. ''Sunday Times'' Top Track 100, 29 June 2008.
8. (2011-06-08). "New Look pretax wiped out as sales drop". Reuters.
9. (2009-11-25). "New Look fire brings record fine".
10. "UK high-street firm New Look fined for serious breaches of fire safety | Fire News". TheBigRedGuide.
11. ["New Look Retailers Ltd v London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority 2010] EWCA Crim 1268 (16 June 2010)". National Archives.
12. "Home". New Look.
13. (5 November 2010). "Press Release - Biggest New Look Store Launches in Dublin". 24-7pressrelease.com.
14. (2016-10-20). "New Look seeks fashion edge in China with local designs". Reuters.
15. "My Life My Style My Look {{!}} New Look".
16. (2017-06-02). "Male beauty influencer and YouTube star Georgie Aldous from Gorleston is first man in makeup to feature in New Look fashion campaign".
17. (2019-06-25). "New Look losses mount as Brexit, rains keep shoppers away". Reuters.
18. (September 28, 2020). "U.K. Retailer New Look Files for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in U.S.".
19. "New Look Irish stores to open on Sunday for closing down sale".
20. "Consumer watchdog intervenes as New Look refuses vouchers in closing down sale".