Drapers
Top 100 (2009)
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Adrian Mountford, Business unit director, Sainsbury’s Tu
Supermarket brand Sainsbury’s Tu broke into the UK’s top 10 fashion retailers list for market share by volume this year and experienced the biggest growth of all the supermarket clothing lines by value for the 24 weeks to September 14. -
Agyness Deyn, Model
It has been a busy year for model Agyness Deyn, who has inspired an increasing demand for quirky fashion, as girls try to emulate her pick-and-mix 1980s and punk looks. -
Alan White, Chief executive, N Brown
At the helm of home-shopping giant N Brown, Alan White has driven a strong year of growth at the group. -
Alexa Chung, TV presenter and model
The ringleader of the London fashion pack, Alexa Chung’s star soared in 2008. The model turned presenter grew into her role as anchorwoman on Channel 4’s youth slot T4 and quickly picked up indie rock arm candy in the way of Arctic Monkey Alex Turner. -
Ali Hall, Editor, Look magazine
Scanning the wealth of women’s magazines on store shelves two years ago, it seemed impossible to consider there was a gap in the market. But that is exactly what former editor of Slimming and More! Ali Hall proposed when she put forward the idea of a high street-based fashion and beauty weekly in 2006. -
Alistair McGeorge, Chief executive, Matalan
Since being drafted in to lead Matalan’s management team last year, chief executive Alistair McGeorge has worked wonders for the value chain. -
Anthony Smith, Chief executive, Shoe Zone
The king of consolidation in the value footwear sector was no less active in 2008 than 2007, which saw him take over Shoefayre. -
Anthony Thompson, Managing director, George at Asda
Anthony Thompson has stormed into the top 20, overtaking all his value rivals with the exception of Primark boss Arthur Ryan. -
Arthur Ryan, managing director and chairman, Primark
While 2008 has witnessed the demise of a string of value retailers, Arthur Ryan’s unstoppable Primark chain has been the dominant force on the high street. -
Belinda Earl, Chief executive, Jaeger
As chief executive of Jaeger, Belinda Earl has overseen a major turnaround, helping to reposition it as a top-end, global brand. -
Cafer Mahiroglu, Owner, Select Retail
UK businesses have looked overseas for investment and rescue packages over the past year. -
Cheryl Cole, Singer and TV presenter
While there was plenty of sympathy for the Girls Aloud frontwoman earlier this year when her picture-perfect marriage was rocked by stories of footballer husband Ashley’s infidelities, it can be no fluke that her rise to national sweetheart has coincided with a dramatic fashion overhaul. -
Chris Ronnie, Chief executive, JJB Sports
It has not been rosy for JJB Sports chief executive Chris Ronnie over the past 12 months. -
Christopher Bailey, Creative director, Burberry
At the end of November, Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey picked up the prestigious British Fashion Award for Menswear Designer of the Year. -
Daisy Lowe, model
With a fashion designer mother and a rock star dad, it is no surprise that Daisy Lowe is making a name for herself. -
Dave Snowdon, Managing director, AMG Footwear
It’s been another year, another dollar for footwear brand Ugg. -
David Dalziel, Founder and creative director, Dalziel & Pow
Despite retailers halting expansion and refurbishment plans this year, Dalziel & Pow founder David Dalziel still managed to rack up an impressive list of clients in 2008, the company’s 25th anniversary. -
David Douglas, Chief executive, Gio-Goi
David Douglas continues to impress with his assault on the branded young fashion market, with his big gun Gio-Goi brand firmly on the frontline. -
David Reiss, Managing director, Reiss
Bridge-to-designer brand Reiss has had a year of heavy investment, boosting both its management team and infrastructure. -
David Shepherd, Brand director, Topman
Topman brand director David Shepherd has been at the helm of the UK’s favourite men’s young fashion retailer for the past eight years, and has steadily improved its reputation. -
David Slade, Leasing director, Westfield Group
October saw the culmination of David Slade and the Westfield Group leasing team’s hard work, with the opening of the £1.7 billion Westfield London shopping centre in White City. The affable Australian pulled off a coup by convincing luxury heavyweights Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci to sign up. -
Derek Lovelock, Chief executive, Mosaic Fashions
Now presiding over six major high street chains after the sale of Whistles to ex-Topshop boss Jane Shepherdson earlier this year, Derek Lovelock remains a powerful force. -
Derrick Campbell, Managing director, Lyle & Scott
Knitwear specialist Lyle & Scott has resurfaced as one of the coolest brands on the young fashion circuit. After a 1980s heyday the 130-year-old, Hawick-born brand slipped off the radar. -
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Designers
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s diffusion line D&G has set as many trends as their mainline Dolce & Gabbana collections, but in 2008 it defined some of the hot trends picked up by the UK high street. -
Don McCarthy, Chairman, House of Fraser
The painful supplier terms introduced by chairman Don McCarthy last year may have caused unrest in the sector but they have certainly paid off for House of Fraser. -
Elaine McPherson, Chief executive, Ethel Austin
In a year that has seen the value sector severely burnt, Elaine McPherson’s ability to dodge the flames has shone through. -
Eric Daman, Stylist, Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl has taken the place of Sex and the City as the TV programme of choice for the 20-something fashion-savvy woman. -
Fabrice Desnos, UK head, Euler Hermes
Credit insurance, or a lack of it, has been one of the biggest talking points of 2008. A number of high street names, including Mosaic Fashions, JJB Sports and footwear chain Faith, had their credit insurance for suppliers pulled, leaving their suppliers with cash flow difficulties and the retailers in danger of running out of stock. -
Fran Minogue, Managing partner, Heidrick & Struggles
With many retailers announcing endless redundancies and restructures over thepast six months, job security has never been as high a priority for the industry than it has for this year. -
Gemma Metheringham, Creative director, Karen Millen
On board for a decade and creative director since 2006, Karen Millen’s Gemma Metheringham embodies the business. -
Gok Wan, TV presenter
It is hard to believe that Gok Wan has only been on our screens for the past couple of years; he has knocked Trinny and Susannah firmly off their perch and become the man who women turn to in a bid to feel better about their lumps and bumps. -
Harold Tillman, Owner, Jaeger and Allders, and chairman, British Fashion Council
It seemed impossible that the British Fashion Council could have found anyone as suave as Sir Stuart Rose to chair its board when the M&S boss stood down at the start of the year. -
Jane Bruton, Editor, Grazia
Jane Bruton, multi award-winning editor of weekly fashion magazine Grazia, has a lot to smile about, having steered the magazine to a weekly circulation of 227,102. -
Jane McNally, Chief executive, Alexon Group
Jane McNally is making changes at Alexon Group, which includes brands Bay Trading and Alex & Co. -
Jane Shepherdson, Chief executive, Whistles
Jane Shepherdson has had a dramatic year. The former Topshop brand director now heads up Whistles following a management buyout with a collective of former Topshop colleagues earlier this year. -
Jeremy Stakol, Managing director, Lipsy
The founders of young fashion brand Lipsy have had a great year, after Marcelle and Jeremy Stakol secured a £17 million buyout deal from high street retailer Next. -
John Heath, Managing director, Cruise
In a year which has seen so many indies, not to mention high street names, fall foul of the credit crunch, it is tantamount to the drive, vision and business nous of John Heath, managing director of designer mini chain Cruise, that the business he acquired just two years ago has continued to expand this year. -
John King, Chief executive, House of Fraser
House of Fraser chairman Don McCarthy may be a hugely influential force at the department store chain, but chief executive John King is the true strategy implementor. -
John Shannon, Owner, Adams Kids
It came as a surprise when Adams Kids was rescued from administration in 2007 by John Shannon, former owner of footwear chain Stead & Simpson. -
Johnnie Boden, Founder, Boden
Nobody can deny the founder of Boden is as charming and colourful as his brand. -
Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Executive chairman, Baugur
The collapse of the Icelandic banking system sent Jón sgeir Jóhannesson, his Baugur investment vehicle and all its retail investments, which include Mosaic Fashions and Jane Norman, into meltdown in October. He was also splashed across the newspapers and was accused of over-paying for and over-borrowing against his investments. -
Joseph Wan, Chief executive, Harvey Nichols
For a while it looked like the credit crunch was happening to everyone except London’s luxury department stores Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. -
Julia Calabrese, Chief executive, McArthurGlen UK
The consumer love affair with designer fashion is at odds with the economic mood right now, but help is at hand. -
Julian Dunkerton, Co-owner, Superdry, and owner, Cult Clothing
A background in young fashion armed Julian Dunkerton with the commercial nous required to launch one of the UK’s hottest brands of the past decade. -
Kate Bostock, Executive director for clothing, Marks & Spencer
Promoted to the executive board at Marks & Spencer this year, Kate Bostock added menswear and boyswear to her existing responsibilities for womenswear and kidswear. -
Kate Moss, Model and design collaborator
A member of international fashion royalty, Kate Moss had another solid year as she continued her role as trendsetter and one of the UK’s most photographed women. -
Kevin Stanford, Retail investor
In the Sunday Times Rich List in April, retail entrepreneur Kevin Stanford fell from 327th for the year before to 453rd place. -
Kim Winser, Chief executive, Aquascutum
Former Marks & Spencer trainee Kim Winser has propelled herself into this list by dint of sheer will. -
Luella Bartley, Designer
Fashion journalist-turned-designer Luella Bartley’s ditsy petal-print dresses had a serious impact when she sent them down the catwalk for spring 08, and every high street chain worth its salt has featured floral tea dress incarnations over the past year. -
Malcolm Collins, Buying, merchandise and design director footwear and accessories, New Look
New Look has kept on grabbing footwear market share this year, just as buying, merchandise and design director for footwear and accessories, Malcolm Collins, has continued to interpret footwear trends into commercial must-have shoes, undercutting all the specialists on price. -
Mark Fenwick, Group chairman, Fenwick
When department store group Fenwick snapped up Colchester store Williams & Griffin there was a rosy halo surrounding the deal. -
Mark Newton-Jones, Chief executive, Shop Direct Group
Since joining home-shopping giant Shop Direct Group, Mark Newton-Jones has been the driving force behind a major shift in strategy to move away from traditional catalogues towards online retail. -
Mark Ronson, Music producer
In a popular culture swimming with pint-sized celebrities there is a distinct lack of heavyweight menswear ambassadors. -
Mary Homer, Managing director, Topshop
Mary Homer took the helm at Topshop in 2006 and she has successfully led the women’s young fashion retailer through a challenging year to finish with another set of record results. -
Mary Portas, Creative director, Yellow Door
It has been quite a year for Mary Portas. -
Mervyn King, Governor, Bank of England
With UK heading into a recession it has been a difficult year for the governor of the Bank of England, but one in which his words and actions have had huge ramifications for the retail fashion industry. -
Mike Ashley, Deputy chairman, Sports Direct
Discount sportswear retailer Sports Direct, headed by entrepreneur Mike Ashley, officially declared that 2008 had seen the toughest trading in the company’s history. -
Mike Goring, Group operations director, Arcadia Group
While Sir Philip Green has become something of a celebrity over the past year and Arcadia chief executive Ian Grabiner has been overseeing the planned launch of Topshop in New York, Mike Goring has been keeping the wheels of the Arcadia machine well oiled on the home front. -
Miuccia Prada, Creative director, Prada
It’s not for nothing that Miuccia Prada is known as the designer’s designer. -
Mohamed Al Fayed, Owner, Harrods
Mohamed Al Fayed is one of fashion’s characters whose profile stretches into the celebrity arena. -
Myleene Klass, Musician, TV presenter and model
Myleene Klass is barely off the telly, be it presenting BBC series Last Choir Standing, ITV’s Divas II or Channel 4’s Miss Naked Beauty, and next year she will replace Nicky Hambleton-Jones as presenter of Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger. -
Natalie Massenet, Founder and chairman, Net-a-Porter
Luxury brands are waking up to the power of the internet and more of them than ever are launching their own transactional websites. -
Neil Clifford, Chief executive, Kurt Geiger
Shifting Kurt Geiger’s positioning to the so-called sweet spot somewhere between the high street and luxury goods markets helped chief executive Neil Clifford secure a flurry of bids from private equity firms when the business was put up for sale a year ago. -
Nick Robertson, Chief executive, Asos
Asos’s dynamic chief executive Nick Robertson has soared 19 places, following an outstanding year for the etailer. -
Nigel Blow, Chief executive, Brown Thomas
Nigel Blow has spearheaded a year of expansion at Dublin department store Brown Thomas. -
Patricia Field, Stylist and designer
Fashion visionary Patricia Field has been shaking up the industry since the beginning of US TV series Sex and the City, on which she was a stylist. -
Paul Kelly, Chief executive, Selfridges
In a year when many retailers have battened down the hatches, upmarket department store Selfridges, led by chief executive Paul Kelly, has been a beacon of self-confidence. -
Paul Sweetenham, President, TK Maxx Europe
The consumer’s flight to discounted brands amid the economic crisis sent Paul Sweetenham rocketing up the Top 100 list this year. -
Peter Cowgill, Chairman, JD Sports Fashion
It might have been an annus horribilis for Peter Cowgill’s sportswear and branded casualwear rivals, but his work to reposition JD Sports as a premium business has paid off. -
Peter Lucas, Chairman of BMB Group, Speciality Retail Group, Arafa Holding Retail Division and British Clothing Industry
Peter Lucas has added a number of brands to BMB Group’s bulging portfolio via a series of acquisitions this year. -
Peter Ruis, Buying director for fashion, John Lewis
Department store chain John Lewis has not been immune to the sales slowdown, but Peter Ruis’s refreshed and more premium fashion offer has ensured clothing sales have remained in positive territory. -
Phil Wrigley, Executive chairman, New Look
Phil Wrigley was promoted to the role of executive chairman this year to focus on New Look’s growth strategy and macro issues facing the retailer, such as corporate and social responsibility and international expansion. -
Philip Mountford, Chief executive, Moss Bros
2008 was Philip Mountford’s most challenging year yet at the helm of the UK’s largest men’s suiting specialist, Moss Bros. -
Ray Kelvin, Chief executive, Ted Baker
While many of his contemporaries have fought their way through a year of dwindling consumer confidence and falling sales, Ray Kelvin, founder of lifestyle business Ted Baker, has walked a more gilded path. -
Richard Akers, Managing director, retail, Land Securities
As managing director of property developer Land Securities, Richard Akers needs broad shoulders. -
Richard Bradbury, Chief executive, River Island
Despite being promoted to chief executive from managing director at River Island this year, Richard Bradbury has kept his profile typically low during 2008. -
Richard Kirk, Chief executive, Peacock Group
Richard Kirk’s strategy to reposition Peacocks as a fashion-led rather than value-led chain has paid off, giving the retailer a point of difference against Primark and a sales uplift of 9.1% over the six months to October. -
Rob Templeman, Chief executive, Debenhams
Debenhams’ chief executive Rob Templeman’s cost control and focus on winning back market share through improved Designers At Debenhams and own-label ranges has meant like-for-like sales have not fallen as far as those at Next and Marks & Spencer have. -
Robert Bensoussan, Chairman, LK Bennett and co-founder, Sirius Equity
Luxury guru Robert Bensoussan took the bold step of buying into footwear and womenswear retailer LK Bennett in a deal thought to be worth £80 million just as the economic crisis took hold. -
Rose Foster, Chief executive, La Senza
Rose Foster storms 33 places in this year’s Top 100 after an excellent year for La Senza, which scooped Best Lingerie Retailer at last month’s Drapers Awards. -
Saj Shah, Chief executive, Jane Norman, non-executive, Phase Eight
Although Saj Shah began to implement his succession strategy at womenswear chain Jane Norman this year by hiring Sandy Goldsbrough from Ghost as trading director, he still lives and breathes the business. -
Scott Schuman, Blogger, The Sartorialist
How’s this for a job description: wander around fashion hotspots and take pictures of people that look good. -
Simon Berwin, Chief executive, Berwin & Berwin
Ben Sherman’s decision in June to move its tailoring and formal shirts licence from supplier Berwin & Berwin to competitor BMB Group became the talk of the menswear market. -
Simon Wolfson, Chief executive, Next
Simon Wolfson has succeeded in managing City expectations of Next during turbulent economic times. -
Sir Paul Smith, Designer
Since its inception in 1976 to winning Menswear Brand of the Year at the Drapers Awards 2008, Paul Smith has personality, commerciality and longevity in equal measure. -
Sir Philip Green, Owner, Arcadia Group and Bhs
Sir Philip Green has taken a leading role in shaping the future of the high street during these turbulent times. In October he mounted a rescue for Icelandic investment company Baugur’s retail interests, which include Oasis, Jane Norman and Warehouse. Green’s interest in the business was genuine but it pricked the ears of private equity funds which then threw their hats into the ring. -
Sir Stuart Rose, Executive chairman, Marks & Spencer
Sir Stuart Rose incurred the wrath of Marks & Spencer shareholders this year, who were angered when he appointed himself executive chairman of the group. M&S’s sales have nose-dived and Rose has come under fire for his strategy of chasing volume through opening price points. -
Stefano Pilati, Creative director, Yves Saint Laurent
From peg-leg trousers to towering architectural heels, the high street has beendominated this year by versions of styles which made their debut on Stefano Pilati’s Yves Saint Laurent catwalk. -
Stella McCartney, Designer
The year started with a bang for Stella McCartney, who gave birth to her third child in January and launched her first lingerie collection the following month. -
Stephen Craig, Chief executive, All Saints
A retailer with a bullish mentality in the face of retail adversity, All Saints has continued to offer commercially led items while retaining a directional fashion quota, and as a result has not done too badly in terms of sales over the past 12 months. -
Stephen Sunnucks, European president, Gap
Gap has endured another rocky year as the consumer downturn bit into recovery plans, sending like-for-likes plummeting month after month and handing Spanish fashion group Inditex the crown as the largest clothing retailer in the world. -
Steve Robinson, Chief executive, M and M Direct
Steve Robinson was drafted in as chief executive of discount sports and fashion etailer M and M Direct after a second buyout by US private equity firm TA Associates last year. -
Sue Shipley, Partner, Odgers Ray & Berndtson
By far the biggest hire of the year was made by recruitment firm Odgers Ray & Berndtson when the head of the five-strong retail recruiting team, Sue Shipley, placed New Look’s Paul Marchant as chief operating officer at Primark. -
Terry Green, Chief executive for clothing and hardlines, Tesco
A resurgent George at Asda and an unstoppable Primark may have affected Tesco’s performance this year, causing its clothing boss Terry Green to fall in this year’s rankings. -
Tom Chapman, Managing director, Matches
Tom Chapman, founder of London-based designer mini chain Matches, has had a stellar year, which was rounded off by him walking away with the Best Designer Store and Best Independent Retailer prizes at the Drapers Awards 2008. -
Tom Duncan, UK sales manager, G-Star
Young fashion brand G-Star came of age in 2008, cementing its position as a must-have brand for retailers and consumers. -
Tom Joule, Managing director, Joules
From waxed jackets, waterproofs and wellies to bright and breezy womenswear, menswear and kidswear, Joules is a multi-channel retailer on the move. -
Touker Suleyman, Owner, Hawes & Curtis and Ghost
The rescue of womenswear retailer Ghost catapulted Touker Suleyman into the Top 100. -
Victoria Beckham, Designer and singer
Gracing the cover of Elle is a pretty good way to begin the year, and to go on to be a Vogue cover girl is outstanding. -
Yasmin Yusuf, Creative director, Miss Selfridge
Two years ago women’s young fashion chain Miss Selfridge was in the red and although it is still an ongoing project, the turnaround led by creative director Yasmin Yusuf deserves recognition as this year has been another record one for the retailer in terms of sales.
