Johnnie Boden

Johnnie Boden CBE DL
Born	John Peter Boden[1] (1961-06-01) 1 June 1961 (age 63)
Nationality	English
Education	Hawtreys Eton College
Alma mater	Oriel College, Oxford
Notable work	Founder of Boden
Children	3

John Peter Boden CBE DL (born 1 June 1961) is a British entrepreneur and founder of Boden, a catalogue clothing company, in 1991.[2]

Early life

John Peter Boden was born on 1 June 1961^[where?]. His father[1] was a lieutenant colonel who changed careers to become a farmer.[1] John Boden was educated at Hawtreys preparatory school, and then Eton College, and read philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) at Oriel College, Oxford.[1]

Career

At 16, he edited the menswear section of the 1977 Harpers & Queen Teenage Edition, but Boden's father was "dismissive", calling it a "stupid job".[3]

After leaving university, Boden became a stockbroker with Barclays Merchant Bank,[3] and SG Warburg Securities.[4] spending some time at Wall Street.[1] He was a stockbroker for five years.[2] However, he "loathed" the job,[2] and was "ill-suited – really bad at it".[3] He ceased working as a stockbroker when he received an inheritance from a childless uncle.[3] He dabbled in other jobs, as a publican and teacher[3] in London.[1] Boden enjoyed teaching, though disliked the low salaries.[3]

Boden

He founded Boden in 1991,[2] launching his first catalogue featuring pictures drawn by a friend,[3] with eight menswear products available[2] modelled by his friends.[1] In 1992, Boden realised women were a better target for clothes, and launched women's clothing, followed by children's clothing,[2] under the name 'Mini Boden', in 1996.[3] However, it took "at least 10 years" for the finances to settle down due to robbery, and other circumstances; which ultimately led his inheritance to be gone in under three years.[3] The firm is known for its "bright prints".[2]

In the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List, Boden placed 368th, with a personal fortune of £300 million.[5] As of the 2020 list, the Bodens own around 60% of the shares in the company, a stake worth £281 million.[6]

Boden was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to fashion and the retail sector.[7] In 2024, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Dorset.[8]

Personal life

Boden is married to Sophie, with whom he has three daughters: Anna, Katie and Stella.[1]

References

1. Burrell, Ian (8 November 2013). "Johnnie Boden: Anti-fashion for all the family". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
2. Hope, Katie (24 March 2014). "How Johnnie Boden came to dress the UK's yummy mummies". BBC. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
3. Hopper, David; Vallance, Charles (17 March 2013). "Johnnie Boden's fashion brand is the love of his life". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
4. Prynn, Jonathan (13 September 2010). "Go, Johnnie, go Boden is a £500m business success story". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
5. "The Sunday Times Rich List". The Sunday Times. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.^[dead link‍]
6. Times, The Sunday. "Rich List 2020: profiles 304-399=, featuring Simon Cowell and Sir Elton John". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
7. "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N9.
8. "No. 64482". The London Gazette. 8 August 2024. p. 15306.