Big name retail has long been dominated by three household names - Philip Green's Arcadia Group, Mike Ashley's Fraser empire and Philip Day's portfolio of brands from Jaegar to Peacocks.

But the Covid-19 pandemic, big investment in bricks-and-mortar stores and a failure to keep up with the times has led to for the triumvirate. There have been store closures, job losses and some .

There is no doubt the influence that these players still have, but those investors who have tapped into the huge audience for custom via mobile phone and social media or pile-it-high philosophy have come into play, particularly this year of lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions.

So while the brands that these tycoons stand for remain dominant in the imagination, when it comes top purchasing power, shoppers are increasingly looking for fast-turnaround alternatives that can deliver the good 24/7.

Here we look at the big-hitting names you might not have heard of who have fast become the new retail royalty behind the 海角视频's most successful stores and shopping sites.

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Matthew Moulding, The Hut Group

Matthew Moulding, Executive Chairman, The Hut Group

Founded in 2004 by Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore with a 拢500,000 investment, specialises in online retail.

The firm was floated on the in September, resulting in a 拢830million payout for Moulding who is the Chief Executive of the business and is known to enjoy a lavish lifestyle after coming from a .

But he shares the wealth too, giving 拢10million of his fortune to support Covid relief efforts during the coronavirus pandemic and donated 拢2million of PPE to frontline workers on top of that.

In 2019, staff shared a massive 拢21million share windfall between them.

Several workers became multi-millionaires as a result of the company's share buy back scheme, which is open to staff, says Moulding.

The Hut Group's beauty brands include Lookfantastic, one of the leading beauty retailers in Europe, Skinstore and subscription box service Glossybox, which has just under half a million monthly subscribers.

Under its nutrition arm, the group owns flagship brand MyProtein - and its family of sub-brands Myvegan, Myvitamins and MP Clothing - after it acquired the company in 2011.

THG Lifestyle includes consumer and luxury products, while THG Experience includes Hale Country Club in Cheshire, and King Street Townhouse Hotel and the Great John Street Hotel, both in Manchester.

The group also operates more than 200 online retail sites under its Ingenuity arm. Big name clients including Neal's Yard Remedies, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, PZ Cussons and Procter & Gamble.

The Manchester-based firm said in its that it expects revenues to soar by 35% this year after a strong peak trading performance.

Creating 3,000 jobs in 2020, mostly in the 海角视频, revenue for the group, was 拢558.7m during that time, up from 2019's 拢370million.

The Barclay Brothers, The Very Group

Flashback October 2000: Sir David Barclay (left) and his twin brother Sir Frederick after receiving their knighthoods from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Sir David Barclay, joint-owner of the The Daily Telegraph, died in January 2021, aged 86.

Booming online brand Very.co.uk and sister site Littlewoods.com, is owned by the Barclay family, proprietors of The Daily Telegraph .

Sky News that that the Barclay family is at the early stages of examining whether to float Very on the London Stock Exchange in a move that was being explored before Sir David Barclay's unexpected death in January 2021. With his twin brother, Sir Frederick, Sir David had built one of Britain's biggest private business empires.

Since 2018, Chief Executive Henry Birch has overseen the rise of the brand, returning it to as online retailers have seen .

He is a former chief executive of FTSE 250-listed casino firm Rank Group plc, creating the 海角视频鈥檚 largest multichannel gaming operator. Prior to joining Rank, Henry spent four years as CEO of William Hill Online, where he launched the company鈥檚 mobile business. He started his career working in the House of Commons and holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

The online retailer had a record-breaking Christmas as the coronavirus lockdowns saw people surge to internet shopping.

The Liverpool company said , following strong trading throughout 2020. Revenues topped 拢500m for the first time in the company's history.

As well as benefiting from the move to online shopping as many physical stores were closed, Very was boosted by other coronavirus trends, such as people investing in their homes during the pandemic.

The company's sales of DIY products tripled, while it saw big increases in the number of beds, other furniture and soft furnishings it sold. Other benefits from the pandemic came in sales of sportswear and wellbeing products.

Very, which was formed by the merger of the Littlewoods and Shop Direct companies in 2005, said overall group revenue, including financial services, rose 15.3% to surpass 拢500million.

Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora, B&M Stores

Bobby, left, and Simon Arora of B&M Bargains owner B&M Retail

Bought in 2004 from Phildew Investments, the Arora brothers have grown bargain retailer B&M from 21 stores to more than 600 in the 海角视频 with a number of acquisitions along the way.

Admitted to the FTSE 250 index in June 2015, the firm has this year seen a sales surge thanks to be being considered an essential retailer able to open through lockdown with the majority of its lines classed in grocery, cleaning and household goods.

In January, the company announced that the Arora family, under its investments vehicle SSA Investments, has sold 40million ordinary shares in the B&M business for over 拢200million, taking its stake from 15% stake in B&M to 10.98%.

The trio grew up in Sale, Manchester, and inherited their drive from their father, who came to the 海角视频 in the late 1960s from India with 拢10 in his pocket.

The two elder brothers are especially close, living next door to each other.

When Robin Arora married in 2015, the couple chartered a private plane to fly guests to Ibiza.

B&M is set to , with shareholders to receive a special dividend of 拢200million after revenues at its 海角视频 stores soared again in post-Christmas trading figures.

And all of this from bricks-and-mortar stores because they don't sell online.

The discount retail giant said 海角视频 stores' revenue growth for Q3 - the festive "golden quarter" - was 26.6%, while group revenue growth stood at 22.5%. That's compared with a 9.9% rise for the same period last year.

The group, whose headquarters are on Merseyside, opened 18 new stores during the quarter - helping to create over 500 new jobs.

In a trading update detailing a "strong golden quarter", the firm also said a further special dividend of 20p per share - equating to around 拢200m in total - will be paid to shareholders at the end of January.

Chief executive Simon Arora and his family are the biggest shareholders in the business, meaning he will pay himself 拢30 million,

Anders Povlsen, Asos.com

Anders Povlsen, owner of Bestseller retail empire and majority stakeholder in Asos.com

The Danish businessman is reportedly worth 拢4.5bn thanks to his Bestseller clothes retail empire, which is the majority shareholder in online retailer Asos.com.

The retail magnate and his wife Anne were hit by tragedy in 2019, with the loss of three of their four children - Alfred, five, Agnes, 12, and Alma, 15 - in the Sri Lankan bombings.

The couple last year welcomed twin girls into their family.

The publicity-shy couple have become the biggest landowners in the Scottish Highlands after first buying the 42,000-acre Glenfeshie estate in the Cairngorms for 拢8million in 2006.

Anders' love affair with the area started on a flyfishing trip as a boy.

The 48-year-old billionaire has continued to snap up huge swathes of the Scottish countryside - owning about 220,000 acres across 12 estates.

The couple, through their company , want to become pioneers of rewilding by reversing years of mismanagement by previous lairds.

Alongside online retailers, Asos.com has seen lockdown sales soar. In the year to September 2020, Asos posted revenue of 拢3.26 billion and pre-tax profit of 拢142.1 million, an increase of 300 per cent.

In January, it announced plans to invest in the West Midlands which will create up to 2,000 jobs.

Asos said today the centre would become operational within 12 months and would reach peak trade in 2023.

Mahmud Kamani, Boohoo.com

Boohoo founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane

The story of the man at the head of the Kamani family retail empire is a rags to riches tale.

Starting with a Manchester market stall in Manchester, Mahmud's father Abdullah Kamani sold handbags to support his family after escaping war-torn Kenya in the 1960s.

Abdullah went on to found a wholesale textile business, Pinstripe, becoming a major supplier for high-street names including New Look and Primark.

Mahmud started working in the business and built on that strong work ethic to start Boohoo in 2006 with business partner and creative lead Carol Kane.

They saw the potential of the internet, cutting out the middle-man by selling well-priced fast-turnaround fashion direct to shoppers.

In less than 15 years, Boohoo has gone from a three-employee operation to .

Mahmud Kamani, 55, and his wife, Aisha, and sons Umar, Adam and Samir, have gone from a house in Chorlton, Manchester, to lavish lifestyles, with properties in New York and Dubai.

The brand has been dogged by a series series of reports raising concerns about conditions in Leicester, with garment workers being paid as little as 拢3 an hour.

An independent review concluded in September 2020, found that Boohoo management were aware workers in its .

The retailer has since appointed to ensure workers in its supply chain are treated ethically and lawfully.

The company, which was listed on the stock market in 2014, includes fashion group brands boohoo, boohooMAN, PrettyLittleThing Nasty Gal, MissPap, Karen Millen and Coast.

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