Liberty & Co
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| Private limited company | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Genre | Department store |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Founder | Arthur Lasenby Liberty |
| Headquarters |
London, W1 United Kingdom |
| Products | Quality and luxury goods |
| Services | Offering innovative and eclectic designs to the public |
| Website | www |
Liberty is a department store on Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London. It sells luxury goods including women's, men's and children's fashion, cosmetics and fragrances, jewellery, accessories, homeware, furniture, stationery and gifts, and is known for its floral and graphic prints. Turnover for 2015 was forecasted to be £145 million, up from £132 million in 2014.
Arthur Lasenby Liberty was born in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, in 1843. He was employed by Messrs Farmer and Rogers in Regent Street in 1862, the year of the International Exhibition at Kensington in London. By 1874, inspired by his 10 years of service, he decided to start a business of his own, which he did the next year.
With a £2,000 loan from his future father-in-law, he accepted the lease of half a shop at 218a Regent Street with three staff members.
The shop opened during 1875 selling ornaments, fabric and objets d'art from Japan and the East. Within eighteen months, he had repaid the loan and acquired the second half of 218 Regent Street. As the business grew, neighbouring properties were bought and added.
In 1884, he introduced the costume department into the Regent Street store, directed by Edward William Godwin (1833–86). Godwin was a distinguished architect and a founding member of the Costume Society in 1882. He and Arthur Liberty created in-house apparel to challenge the fashions of Paris.
In 1885, 142–144 Regent Street was acquired and housed the ever-increasing demand for carpets and furniture. The basement was named the Eastern Bazaar, and it was the vending place for what was described as "decorative furnishing objects". He named the property Chesham House, after the place in which he grew up. The store became the most fashionable place to shop in London, and Liberty fabrics were used for both clothing and furnishings. Some of its clientele was exotic, and included famous Pre-Raphaelite artists.
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Wikipedia