The FatFace story

It all began in 1988 with two guys enjoying life on the slopes in the French Alps and desperately trying to avoid working for a living. With money running out they hatched plan; print some sweatshirts and t-shirts, sell them at night, and ski during the day. With that simple formula, the FatFace brand was born with the name even being inspired by their favourite black mountain run in Val d’Isère, La Face. Fast forward over 25 years and the same entrepreneurial spirit still remains at the heart of the business, underpinning our growth into a successful multi-channel retailer with over 200 stores, an awardwinning store design, and a fast growing e-commerce website. While we will always stay true to our heritage, we also continue to pursue new growth opportunities. From new stores to international expansion, we’re constantly exploring ways to give more people better access to the FatFace brand, all the while retaining our passion for delivering a fantastic product and service experience that is loved by all our customers.
0 stores | 1988 |
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The founders sell T-shirts and sweatshirts from their campervan to fund their skiing on La Face, Val d’Isere | |
1989 | ||||
1990 | ||||
1991 | ||||
1 store | 1992 |
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First store opens, in Fulham | |
1993 |
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The first catalogue rolls off the press and is mailed to customers | ||
1994 | ||||
1995 | ||||
1996 | ||||
1997 |
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The women's and kids ranges were introduced | ||
1998 | ||||
1999 | ||||
27 stores | 2000 | |||
2001 |
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www.fatface.com goes live | ||
2002 |
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50th store opens | ||
2003 | ||||
80 stores | 2004 | |||
2005 |
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100th store opens | ||
2006 |
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Relationship with John Lewis begins | ||
2007 |
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Bridgepoint acquires FatFace | ||
142 stores | 2008 | |||
2009 | ||||
2010 |
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FatFace enters into a new stage of growth | ||
2011 |
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FatFace launches a full multi-channel strategy | ||
2012 |
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200th store opens / New eCommerce platform lauches / New store concept lauches | ||
2013 |
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FatFace wins Retail Week store design of the year award / FatFace wins Retail Week EPOS initiative of the year award | ||
2014 |
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International strategy agreed | ||
2015 |
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US dedicated website launched | ||
228 stores | 2016 |
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First US store opens / Lease exchanged on a new 80,000 sq.ft Distribution Centre / Further record year of sales | |
2017 |
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Occupancy taken of the new Distribution Centre / New wholesale agreements signed with Amazon and Next / FatFace wins licensing award | ||
2018 |
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Distribution Centre opens / New omni-channel strategy agreed / Target set of 10 stores in the US / First overseas department store concession to open |