Jigsaw (clothing retailer)

Jigsaw is a major women's clothing retailer with outlets in Britain, the United States and an independent licencee in Australia.

The company is based on "Mortlake Road" in Kew in south west London. It turned over £88m in 2005. It has 43 stores across the UK. Jigsaw's sister company Kew is also based in the same location, though has totally separate design and management.

History

It was started in 1972 by John Robinson and Malcolm Webster, and is now owned by Robinson Webster (Holdings) Ltd. John (born 1948), and who grew up in Herefordshire, went on a holiday to Turkey and brought back a sheepskin coat. People wanted coats like his, so he and Malcolm went back to Istanbul and filled an old Post Office van with sixty coats and sold them back in the UK. John and his wife live on a farm in Wiltshire.

hops

The shops all have an individual style, maintaining a slightly eclectic general feel. This has been achieved by using different designers for the shops over the lifespan of the company, including; Nigel Coates, John Pawson and AMD

Celebrity Connections

Kate Middleton, the girlfriend of Prince William of Wales has worked four days a week (Mon-Thu) as an assistant accessories buyer for the company since December 2006. Her mother helped design the Jigsaw Junior website.

Prince William and Kate Middleton holidayed together at John Robinson's "Villa Hibiscus" on the island of Mustique.

External links

* [http://www.jigsaw-online.com Official site]
* [http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article749288.ece December 2005 Times article]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2006/12/06/efkate06.xml December 2006 Telegraph article]
* [http://www.ciao.co.uk/Jigsaw_Shop__82130 Reviews at Ciao!]