| 1851 | Company founder Moses Moses opens our first two shops in London’s Covent Garden. He sold second-hand clothing with the motto ‘Sell only the best stuff, give only the best service’. |  |
| 1881 | We move into the original King Street store in Covent Garden. |
| 1894 | Moses dies, leaving the business to two of his five sons, Alfred and George. |
| 1897 | Our Hire Department is established with Alfred charging for suits loaned to his friend Charles Pond, who needed them to perform at musical evenings in large private houses. |
| 1898 | The Covent Garden store is rebuilt and the name Moss Bros goes up over the door for the first time. |
| 1909 | Harry Moss, George’s son, joins the firm at the age of 13. He is destined to follow Alfred as the next ‘Guvnor’. |
| 1910 | Birth of our Military Department follows the successful kitting out of officers from a cupboard of military paraphernalia left over from the Boer War. |
| 1914 | Outbreak of World War One. Staff slept in the shop to keep up with the demand for uniforms. |
| 1917 | Monty Moss, another of George’s sons and a member of the business, is lost at the battle of Passchendaele. |
| 1918 | Saddlery Department is established in the basement at King Street with the purchase of the highly-respected saddlers Parker’s. |
| 1921 | Harry Moss becomes a Director at 25 and sets about developing the ready-to-wear business. |
| 1924 | King George V’s Private Secretary recommends Moss Bros to the first Labour Government for the correct ‘levee’ dress to wear at court. |
| 1934 | Harry Moss becomes Managing Director. The Depression spawns the first of our famous ‘frivolous’ booklets, ‘All at Sea’, designed to put a smile on our customers’ faces. |
| 1937 | Alfred Moss dies, leaving a legacy for quality and innovation. |
| 1939 | World War Two, and most of the Hire Department goes into storage. Moss Bros opens branches in strategic locations to serve the needs of the armed forces. |
| 1947 | Moss Bros becomes a public company. We open a Women’s Department and hire service for eveningwear and wedding outfits. |  |
| 1952 | Death from polio of Graham Moss, Alfred’s younger son. Graham, who won the Military Cross in Sicily, was said to be ‘another Alfred in the making’. |
| 1952 | The funeral of George VI proves a major occasion for our company. |
| 1953 | The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II brings to us the highest in the land – among them the Duke of Norfolk – for the correct dress for this royal event. |
| 1955 | Basil Moss, Alfred’s elder son, becomes a Director. |
| 1957 | Monty Moss, Harry’s son, also joins the Board. |
| 1960s | The swinging 60s – a time of major growth. Moss Bros nears its 100th store. |
| 1972 | For the first time we take part in the Ideal Home Exhibition in London in a feature entitled ‘Invitation to a Wedding’. |
| 1982 | We acquire the cloth and clothing company Fairdale. The Suit Company opens. |
| 1988 | Sale of the original site in Covent Garden. The Moss Bros Group is formed by a merger with Cecil Gee which brings with it Savoy Taylors Guild and the prestigious Beale & Inman in London’s New Bond Street. Rowland Gee, Cecil Gee’s son, appointed Group Managing Director. |
| 1989 | Closure of large King Street site in February and transfer of Head Office to Clapham, its current location. |
| 1991 | TWe return to King Street, Covent Garden, opening a traditional Moss Bros store complete with barber’s shop and large hire department right opposite the original site. |
| 1992 | Acquired Dormie. |
| 1996 | We buy the Blazer chain from Storehouse. Set up franchise agreements with Hugo Boss and Canali, enabling us to run stand-alone stores for them in the UK. |
| 2000 | We open our first Canali boutique in New Bond Street. |
| 2001 | The Group launches the Code brand in response to the ‘dress-down’ trend of the time. Forty established Moss Bros or Savoy Taylors Guild outlets are converted to Code stores. These prove only partially successful. |  |
| 2002 | Adrian Wright leaves Bluewater, Europe’s largest retail destination, to become Chief Executive of the Moss Bros Group. He strengthens our management team, axes the Code brand, leads a period of consolidation and sets a new strategic direction. |
| 2003 | Moss Bros Hire opens its first concession on Cunard’s QE2 cruise liner. |
| 2003 | Moss Bros Group announces partnership with Ascot Racecourse Limited to produce the Royal Ascot Collection, formalwear to buy or hire for extra special occasions. |
| Present | Philip Mountford is appointed Chief Executive taking over from Adrian Wright who stands down to pursue other interests.
The Company announces that it has returned to profit for the financial year ended 31 January 2004 for the first time in four years. |
Our Group now comprises stores under the following fascias, each catering for different customer tastes and lifestyles:
- Moss
- Moss Bros
- Moss Bros Hire
- Cecil Gee
- Savoy Taylors Guild
- Beale & Inman
- Hugo Boss
- Canali
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