Tom Chapman (businessman)

Thomas Watson Chapman OBE (born June 1963[1]) is a British entrepreneur and investor.[2]

This article is about the entrepreneur. For the French English musician, see Tom Chapman.

Tom Chapman
OBE
Born
Thomas Watson Chapman

June 1963 (age 60)
Wimbledon, London
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Businessperson, entrepreneur, investor
Known forCo-founder of MATCHESFASHION.COM
SpouseRuth Chapman

He co-founded luxury fashion online retailer Matchesfashion.com in 1987 and served as the company's co-CEO until 2015.[3] In 2017, Matches was acquired by Apax Partners in a deal that valued the company at $1 billion.[4]

Since 2017, he has been an early-stage investor with an investment portfolio that spans several industries including technology, healthcare, and fashion.[5][2]

Early life

Born in Wimbledon, Chapman studied hotel and hospitality management before opening an independent fashion outlet.[6]

Career

Matchesfashion.com

In 1987, Chapman founded Matchesfasion.com as a single store in Wimbledon Village.[3] At the age of 21, Chapman met Ruth Chapman and convinced her to join the business.[7] By 2011 MATCHESFASHION.COM was the largest independent fashion retailer in London with 14 stores.[3]

In 2007, the company was one of the first luxury brands to go online.[8] Chapman led the company's digital strategy and turned the business into a multi-channel e-commerce retailer.[9][10]

Chapman said the original motivation for launching the website was to provide a single view of the stock as well as build a customer database and was initially surprised by the success of the website as a sales tool.[9] From the launch of the website, the business grew at up to 100 percent per year.[9] As of 2018, the company stocks over 450 brands shipping to 176 countries, making 95 percent of sales online and 85 percent internationally.[11]

In 2011, Chapman launched No. 23, a townhouse dedicated to private shopping to complement online retail.[12] In 2012, the company raised £20 million in venture capital from SEP and Highland Capital Partners at a valuation of £76 million.[13] In 2013, Chapman rebranded all Matches' physical stores MATCHESFASHION.COM to "unify" the brand.[14][8]

In 2016, the company launched 90-minute delivery to shoppers in London.[11] In 2018, the business opened 5 Carlos Place, a five-storey townhouse combining luxury private shopping in a home environment with a broadcasting hub and events space.[15] Chapman was also responsible for introducing iPads into the company's stores, which accounted for more than 50 percent of in-store sales.[8]

In 2015, Chapman stepped down as joint chief executive to become joint chairman.[3]

Matchesfashion.com was acquired by Apax Partners in 2017.[16] Chapman retains a minority stake in the business and remains on the company board.[7][17]

Investment portfolio

Since 2017, Chapman has invested in multiple startups across a wide range industries in the UK and USA through his family office, the Chapman Office.[5][18]

Chapman has invested in Seattle-based trucking start-up Convoy; skincare brand Heyday; fashion brand Universal Standard; baby food business Cerebelly; finance company IPSX; consumer personal care 'by Humankind'; feminine hygiene brand OHNE, personal male grooming company Hawthorne; and health-tech company Huma.[19][5][2] Chapman has also invested in Caliva, Plena and Harvest Health & Recreation.[5][2]

In February 2020, Chapman invested in CDLP, a Swedish menswear brand.[20] In the same year, he also invested in AI-driven sports app Second Spectrum; computer gaming platform Robin Games; training finance company Forte and customer analytics platform Contentsquare.[18]

Personal life

Married to Ruth Chapman, the couple have three children.[21] They have properties in London and Los Angeles, and have two dogs.[22][2]

Chapman collects 20th-century furniture, art and antiques.[8]

In 2017, Tom Chapman received the Drapers Lifetime Achievement Award.[23] In 2018, Chapman was inducted into the Business of Fashion Hall of Fame.[3]

Tom and Ruth 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.[24]

References
  1. "Tom Chapman – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. Evans, Peter (22 September 2019). "Q&A with angel investor Tom Chapman". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. "Tom & Ruth Chapman Are Among the 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. Paton, Elizabeth (1 September 2017). "Matchesfashion.com Sells Majority Stake to Apax After Fierce Bidding War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. "Tom Chapman". The Marque. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  6. "Harper's Bazaar: Perfect Match". Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via PressReader.
  7. "Drapers Top 100 2017 – 24. Tom and Ruth Chapman, founders, Matchesfashion". Drapers. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  8. Armstrong, Lisa (12 December 2015). "Ruth and Tom Chapman on turning Matches into a multimillion-pound empire from one tiny shop". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  9. Stocker, 1 July 2011By Keely (July 2011). "Tom Chapman". Drapers. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  10. Smith, Edwin (12 July 2015). "MatchesFashion duo step back after successful shift to online sales". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  11. Butler, Sarah; Wood, Zoe (1 September 2017). "Husband and wife bank £400m from sale of Matchesfashion.com". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  12. "Matchesfashion plans standalone store for Raey". The Industry. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  13. "Drive Episode 6: Tom Chapman on Building MatchesFashion". The Business of Fashion. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  14. Alexander, Ella (23 April 2013). "Matches Changes Brand Name". British Vogue. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  15. Conti, Samantha (10 May 2017). "Matchesfashion.com Poised to Open Town House on London's Carlos Place". WWD. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  16. "Apax - Apax Funds to acquire Matchesfashion.com". www.apax.com. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  17. "The Sunday Times Rich List". login.thesundaytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  18. "Chapman Office". Chapman Office. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  19. "Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Massenet Invest in 'Size-Inclusive' Brand Universal Standard". The Business of Fashion. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  20. Wightman-Stone, Danielle (4 February 2020). "CDLP raises 4.3 million euros in investment". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  21. Johnson, Jamie (15 April 2018). "Meet Ruth Chapman: the woman behind online designer clothing empire Matches Fashion". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  22. D’Souza, Christa (2 October 2016). "The £130m Matches woman: meet Ruth Chapman". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  23. McGregor, Kirsty (December 2017). "From Wimbledon to the world: Matchesfashion's founders' lifetime achievement". Drapers. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  24. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N11.
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