It was founded by entrepreneur Richard Caring in the 1970s and initially imported mass-produced clothing from manufacturers in Hong Kong into the UK market.
Having grown a women's fashion supply business in the UK during the 1960s, Caring visited Hong Kong in 1971.
[1] Labour and materials were cheaper than in Britain,[2] and Caring worked with local manufacturers to develop mass production techniques that delivered quality results.
[1] International Clothing Designs (ICD) was established to exploit the new opportunity, and Caring moved his family permanently to Hong Kong in 1979.
Then, as retailers began to deal directly with suppliers, ICD scaled down from 27 clothing divisions to eight by 2010.