Ruth Chapman
OBE
Born
Ruth Elizabeth Chapman

December 1961 (age 62)
NationalityBritish
OccupationBusinessperson
Known forMATCHESFASHION.COM
SpouseTom Chapman (entrepreneur)

Ruth Elizabeth Chapman OBE (born December 1961[1]) is co-founder and former co-CEO of luxury fashion retailer MATCHESFASHION.COM.

Early life

Born on the Wirral, Chapman attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls.[2][3]

While growing up, Chapman said she was always interested in fashion and the "power of clothes". She was influenced by her mother, stepmother, and grandmother[3] and, as a teenager, spent the weekends rifling through fashion thrift stores.[3]

After leaving school, Chapman went on to work at fashion brand Jaeger, department store Harrods, and a video production company.[3][4] At the age of 21, Chapman met Tom Chapman, who convinced her to leave her job to help him run a fashion boutique.[3]

Career

Ruth and Tom Chapman co-founded MATCHESFASHION.COM as a single brick-and-mortar fashion store in Wimbledon, London in 1987.[2] The couple expanded the luxury fashion chain to 14 stores in London, including launching franchise stores for MaxMara and Diane von Furstenberg.[5]

Chapman was known in the industry for working with new and up-and-coming talent, and has said that "discovering" new designers was key to the business' early success.[6][7]

In 2007, the couple launched the MATCHESFASHION.COM website, which Chapman has called a "seismic moment" for the business.[5] From the launch of the website, the business grew at up to 100 percent per year.[5] The company now stocks over 450 brands shipping to 176 countries, making 95 percent of sales online.[7][5]

In 2012, the Chapmans raised £20 million in venture capital from SEP and Highland Capital Partners.[5] The company also launched in-house label Raey.[3] In 2015, Ruth and Tom Chapman stepped down as co-CEO of MATCHESFASHION.COM to become joint chairmen.[8]

In 2017, Apax Partners acquired MATCHESFASHION.COM in a deal that valued the company at more than $1 billion.[8] The couple retain a minority stake in the business.[9]

In 2017, Chapman joined the jury of the ANDAM fashion award.[10] Between 2013 and 2017, Chapman sat on the British Fashion Council's NEWGEN selection panel to find new UK fashion talent.[11]

Personal life

Married to Tom Chapman, the couple have three children.[2] They have properties in London and Los Angeles, and have two dogs.[12]

Chapman supported The Telegraph's Women Mean Business campaign which aimed to close the finance gap between female and male entrepreneurs.[2] Chapman is a Patron of The Prince's Trust's Women Supporting Women campaign.[13]

In 2017, Ruth and Tom Chapman received the Drapers Award for Lifetime Achievement.[9] In 2018, Chapman was shortlisted for the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award.[6]

Ruth and Tom Chapman were both appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to the international fashion retail industry.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Ruth Chapman – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Johnson, Jamie (15 April 2018). "Meet Ruth Chapman: the woman behind online designer clothing empire Matches Fashion". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "A View from the Top: Matches founder Ruth Chapman on being a fashion maven and mogul". The Independent. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  4. ^ D’Souza, Christa (2 October 2016). "The £130m Matches woman: meet Ruth Chapman". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Stocker, Keely (1 July 2011). "Tom Chapman". Drapers. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b Benigson, Moira. "Ruth Chapman, not afraid to be first – Fashion & Luxury, People & Profiles, Weekly Column Executive Search". The MBS Group. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b Halliday, FashionNetwork com,Sandra. "'Shell-shocked' Matchesfashion founder vows to stay close to the business". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 17 May 2019.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b "Tom & Ruth ChapmanAre Among the 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Drapers Top 100 2017 – 24. Tom and Ruth Chapman, founders, Matchesfashion". Drapers. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. ^ Foreman, Katya (30 March 2017). "Ruth Chapman, Pascal Morand Join ANDAM Jury". WWD. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Ruth Chapman: 'In fashion, when women talk, men listen. That's an". Evening Standard. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. ^ Carpani, Jessica (25 June 2018). "Matches fashion founder Ruth Chapman on the beauty oil she swears by, her easy style secret and reverting to a Nokia 3310". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Women Supporting Women founding Patrons & Ambassadors | Women Supporting Women | Major gifts | Support our work | The Prince's Trust". www.princes-trust.org.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N11.
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