company traded as lse fccn industry clothing founded 1972 1 headquarters london uk key people stephen marks chairman & ceo adam castleton finance director neil williams operations director products clothing accessories watches perfumes toiletries glasses etc. revenue 189.4 million gbp 2014 2 number of employees 2 260 2014 website www.frenchconnection.com french connection french connection also branded as fcuk is a uk based global retailer and wholesaler of fashion clothing accessories and homeware . founded in the early 1970s by stephen marks who remains chief executive it is based in london and its parent french connection group plc is listed on the london stock exchange . french connection distributes its clothing and accessories through its own stores in the uk us and canada and through franchise and wholesale arrangements globally . the company became notorious for the use of the fcuk initialism in its advertising campaigns in the early 2000s . other brands currently within the group include great plains toast and ymc . former brands include nicole farhi . contents 1 brand history 1.1 fcuk branding controversy 1.2 brand position 2 worldwide operation 2.1 other brands in group 2.2 perfumes 3 references 4 external links brand history edit stephen marks who started out in business in 1969 as the stephen marks brand established french connection in 1972 a year after the film of the same name was released . initially designed as a mid market women s brand he has said the name came about because he managed to acquire a large shipment of indian cheesecloth shirts via a french contact that could be resold in the uk at a large profit . the business expanded into menswear in 1976 . 3 4 in 1978 nicole farhi joined french connection as a designer . in 1983 her eponymous higher end label was launched by the french connection parent group and this was not sold until 2010 . 4 5 after marks floated the french connection brand on the london stock exchange in 1984 he was listed as the 15th richest man in britain but by the late 1980s the company was in trouble . 6 he took control of the direction of french connection again in 1991 . 4 fcuk branding controversy edit french connection store in covent garden london french connection began using the branding fcuk usually written in lowercase and deliberately similar to the taboo word fuck in advertising after 1991 when marks regained control . 7 reportedly the first use of the initialism was on faxes sent between hong kong and london offices headed fchk to fcuk . 8 marks said in a subsequent interview that the faxes were not intended to be rude . the advertising campaign came about after he was so impressed by a bra advert featuring eva herzigov that he contacted the advertising executive behind it trevor beattie even though the company did not have a budget for an advertising campaign at the time . it was beattie who spotted the marketing potential of the initialism and a campaign was launched around it . 9 use of this term caused widespread controversy due to its similarity to fuck . 7 10 the success of the branding in raising french connection s profile led to similar tactics from other organisations . french connection launched a trademark infringement case in the london high court challenging the owner of first consultants uk ltd a computer company over its use of the fcuk initialism . the case found that the internet domain fcuk.com was registered prior to french connection applying for the uk trademark and its claim for passing off was dismissed . mr justice rattee refused to grant an injunction describing french connection s use of the initialism as a tasteless and obnoxious campaign . 11 12 the company threatened legal action against the political youth organisation conservative future which had briefly adopted the spoof abbreviation cfuk short for conservative future uk . 13 a french connection store in toronto canada fcuk in york region following a number of complaints about advertising campaigns using the initialism the uk s advertising standards authority requested that the company submit all poster campaigns for approval before running them . 10 in the united states the american family association urged a boycott of fcuk products . 14 french connection stopped using the initialism in advertising in 2005 and reduced its profile in its shops . however it is still used on certain menswear products and in store branding . despite this lowering of the profile french connection remains known as fcuk particularly by the uk press . 15 in 2016 it was reported that french connection was to bring back its fcuk slogan campaign . 16 brand position edit while the revival of the uk brand s fortunes in the 1990s has been attributed to the success of the fcuk logo it has had mixed financial fortunes during the 2000s reflected in its poor share prices in the uk . 17 after reportedly losing market share to rivals such as zara topshop and asos with some analysts suggesting its pricing was out of step with other competitor brands its position improved in 2014 . 5 17 as of 2014 update the french connection brand had 131 stores in the uk and europe . 18 worldwide operation edit french connection distributes its branded womenswear and menswear through a network of owned stores through franchised stores in major markets around the world through concessions in department stores in the uk and also through other multi brand retailers . 2 french connection also has a variety of licensed products including eyeglasses sunglasses toiletries shoes jewellery and watches which are sold through its own stores and specialist retailers such as boots and specsavers . 19 other brands in group edit french connection represents the majority of french connection group s revenue some 88 per cent in 2014 however it owns a number of other clothing homewear brands including ymc great plains and toast . 2 5 toast now has eleven uk stores . 20 perfumes edit french connection has produced perfumes as an extension to the main clothing brand . this is a partial list eau de fcuk no. 1 no. 2 no. 3 men s range introduced 2000 and women s perfumes in 2001 . fcuk her and fcuk him 2003 original women s perfume by zirh shiseido and men s perfume by james krivda . fcuk connect her and fcuk connect him 2007 men s and women s ranges with base notes including musk . fcuk friction her and friction him 2012 women s perfume includes notes of coconut and vanilla men s includes citrus . 21 references edit french connection investor relations fashion is our business a b c french connection group plc . financial times . 1 october 2014 . retrieved 1 october 2014 . simon mills the man from fcuk mailonline undated . retrieved 2013 02 06 . a b c ehrlich dorleen ; raugust karen . french connection . fashionencyclopedia.com . fashion encyclopedia . retrieved 1 october 2014 . a b c wood zoe 15 march 2010 . french connection sells nicole farhi as losses mount . the guardian . retrieved 1 october 2014 . armistead louise 20 october 2013 . zigzag pattern that is french connection . daily telegraph . retrieved 1 october 2014 . a b finch julia 31 march 2001 . oh so pretty blatant . the guardian . retrieved 1 october 2014 . french letters made safer by cap . out law pinsent masons . 2004 07 13 . krieger candice 1 march 2012 . mr french connection means business . jewish chronicle . retrieved 1 october 2014 . a b time called on fcuk posters bbc news 2001 04 04 . retrieved on 2007 07 15 robert verkaik 4 december 1999 . the case of fcuk v fcuk sent to high court . the independent . judge s fury at four letter ads bbc news 1999 12 03 . retrieved on 2007 07 15 young tories threatened over logo bbc news 1999 09 15 . retrieved on 2007 07 15 companies target teens with scent to bed ad campaign american family association . retrieved on 2007 07 15 nazia parveen 29 august 2013 . topless french connection advert sparks fury after being placed in window of city centre store . daily mail . retrieved 22 february 2016 . example of use in uk press in 2013 fcuk marketing says first black and white shoot for brand by photographer rankin is in line with its edgy image alice cuffe 25 january 2016 . fcuk french connection are bringing back their controversial slogan . international business times . retrieved 22 february 2016 . a b ruddick graham 18 september 2014 . french connection regains swagger after decade in the doldrums . daily telegraph . retrieved 1 october 2014 . french connection shares boosted by surge in sales . bbc . 14 april 2014 . retrieved 1 october 2014 . licensed products french connection retrieved on june 21 2011 . geoghegan jill 1 october 2014 . lifestyle brand toast opened its fourth store in chelsea this week . drapers . retrieved 1 october 2014 . basenotes.net french connection retrieved on 2012 10 09 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to french connection retailer . official website uk & europe official website australia official website canada official website india official website usa retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title french connection clothing & oldid 737200993 categories 1972 establishments in the united kingdomclothing brandsclothing companies of the united kingdomclothing retailers of the united kingdomwatch manufacturing companies of the united kingdomcompanies established in 1972companies listed on the london stock exchangeobscenity controversieshidden categories articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014all articles containing potentially dated statementscommons category with local link same as on wikidataofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity 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