Acca - Group Origins and Structure

ACCA

Group origins and structure

Tony’s father, Howard Masters, set up Shirtmaster in the 1950s. Howard was a skilled tailor and saw the potential

for designing and manufacturing a distinctive range of men’s shirts and ties marketed under the �Shirtmaster’ brand.

Howard set up a shirt manufacturing company with good access to the employee skills needed to design and make

shirts. Howard had recognised the opportunity to make distinctive shirts incorporating innovative design features

including the latest man-made fibres. In the 1960s London was a global fashion centre exploiting the UK’s leading

position in popular music. Men became much more fashion conscious, and were willing to pay premium prices for

clothes with style and flair. Shirtmaster by the 1960s had built up a UK network of more than 2,000 small

independent clothing retailers. These retailers sold the full range of men’s wear including made-to-measure suits,

shirts and matching ties, shoes and other clothing accessories. Extensive and expensive TV and cinema advertising

supported the Shirtmaster