Kate’s favorite fashion brand Jigsaw solves multi-million dollar puzzle as it plans to open stores in Leicestershire, Hertfordshire and Surrey
- Jigsaw, five decades old, discovers shoppers want their clothes to last for years
- Chief executive Beth Butterwick has said, “We’re not instant fashion.”
- “We are in market towns where customers are mostly local shoppers,” she added
- New stores coming to Market Harborough, St Albans, Reigate and Cobham
Some fashion brands are made to last – and Duchess of Cambridge favorite Jigsaw is clearly among them.
The label, now five decades old, is finding a new lease of life with shoppers who want their style and clothing to last for years to come.
With signs that Britain’s obsession with disposable fashion is on the wane, Jigsaw is considering settling in market towns where it believes its “heartland shoppers”—stylish women in their 40s and 50s—live.
TIMELESS: The Duchess of Cambridge wore the label’s clothes in 2007
It plans to open stores in Market Harborough in Leicestershire, St Albans in Hertfordshire and the towns of Reigate and Cobham in Surrey.
Famous fans include TV presenter Holly Willoughby and Kate, who briefly worked as an accessory buyer for the chain before becoming engaged to Prince William.
HEARTLAND: Jigsaw has largely abandoned city centers for market towns
Chief executive Beth Butterwick said her shoppers were “confident” women who “buy less, buy better.” She added: ‘The fit and the fabric are important – cashmere, silk and linen. We are not instant fashion.’
The brand will also move out of city center stores and busy shopping centers where younger, more budget-conscious buyers are scouring the rails for the cheapest options.
‘We only have a few’ [shops] in town centres,” said Mrs Butterwick. “We’re in market towns and regional centers where customers are mostly local shoppers who come here a lot.”
Famous fans of the brand include TV presenter Holly Willoughby and the Duchess of Cambridge, who briefly worked as an accessories buyer for the chain before her engagement to Prince William.
The label, now five decades old, is finding new life with shoppers who want their style and clothing to last for years to come
She said of her clients: “They are stylish and confident. They want to look modern and relevant with their friends. They are not slaves to social media. [When we ask them] they refer to a multitude of media and they still love print [magazines].’
Her formula seems to work. Jigsaw returned a loss of £21m in 2020 to a profit of £1.2m last year, with record sales of over £7m this season.