Richard Caring

This was not the normal retailer and supplier set-up but described as more of a partnership, with Caring presenting Green with a Ferrari F430 Spider for his 50th birthday: I speak to him every day.

We're more than friends – I think we'd do anything for each other.

We're like brothers.

We've grown up together and experienced lots of good times and tough times.

For less than a year, Caring worked for Green.

Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman.

He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers.

Caring was born on 4 June 1948, the middle child of three born to Louis Caringi, an Italian-American GI, stationed in London during World War II, and Sylvia Parnes, a Jewish-immigrant nurse who met him in the ambulance on his way to hospital, and cared for him during his recovery.

After deciding to stay in London after the war, the couple married.

Louis Caringi anglicized his surname to Caring, and set up in the clothing industry in offices off Great Portland Street; Louis Caring Originals sourced knitwear for retailers including Marks & Spencer.

Caring grew up in Finchley, London.

His prowess at golf, playing off of scratch, resulted in him representing Middlesex at county level, and being accepted into Millfield School in Street, Somerset on a 10-shilling-a-week sporting scholarship.

Caring left school aged 16 and joined a shopping centre development company as an office boy, before joining Louis Caring Originals, his father's dress manufacturing business that employed seven people: My parents thought it important I got practical work experience – they weren't bothered about university.

I understand the thought process, "Let's throw him into work."

But looking back, I would very much have liked to go to university.

You get a much broader mindset.

At that time, the family was in financial difficulties, which threatened losing their home.

Caring and his then girlfriend made a range of mini-skirts that cost £2 to make, selling them for 69s 6d (£3.475 in decimalisation).

With an initial target of 200 a week, after a few years they were selling 25,000 a week: We saved the house in the end.

Maybe that's why I'm driven, because I saw it all happen at a young age.

In 1971 Caring first visited Hong Kong, where labour and materials were far cheaper than in Britain.

Until this point, Hong Kong made basic clothing cheaply, such as underpants.

Spending a year living out of a suitcase and resident in one hotel, Caring educated local manufacturers through producing the same garment over and over again to get the quality right.

As a result, he became one of the first western high fashion buyers to develop localised Chinese relationships, and returned to the UK to sell the new high quality but cheaper garments to UK retailers.

Forming International Clothing Designs (ICD) to exploit the new opportunity, Caring moved his family permanently to Hong Kong in 1979.

Due to its international trading nature, the company's structure and holdings are complex, held through a series of offshore companies and trusts, making it hard to detect Caring’s full earnings from the fashion world.

The manoeuvre worked, and Caring cornered the market in fast fashion.

ICD at its height supplied 70% of the clothing sold by British high street retailers, supplying Marks & Spencer, Mothercare and Next.

It was through ICD and its trading that he met and developed his relationship with Sir Philip Green.

ICD was the dominant supplier to Arcadia Group, the then Green-owned fashion retail chain that included Dorothy Perkins, Topshop and Top Man.

Caring supplied Next plc via a joint venture company NV, but sold his share in the 1990s back to the retailer.

He built a joint venture to supply Freemans catalogues, again now sold to the partner.

He also co-developed the Together brand, which after buying out partners he sold to German catalogue firm Otto Versand.

In 2001, Caring invested in Green's British Home Stores (BHS), owning 22.5% of the retailer and earning £100m in dividends, before disposing of his shares in 2006.

In 2004 he diversified his business interest into property, restaurants and nightclubs.

He is the chairman of Caprice Holdings, which owns and operates The Ivy chain of restaurants.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, Caring's net worth is estimated to be £1.005 billion.

In 2004–05, ICD saw sales drop to £74.2m from £85.5m, making a pre-tax loss of £523,644 from a £3.99m profit the year before after an exceptional loss on the sale of Amanda Wakeley's designer label.

In 2007, Caring looked at buying the distressed Prada brand.

Arcadia Group went into administration in November 2020.