Mackintosh aims to reign in Mayfair

Mackintosh, the British company that invented the waterproof raincoat almost 200 years ago, is taking on young rivals with its first Mayfair store.

The two-storey shop is officially launched on Wednesday in Mount Street to challenge Aquascutum and Burberry.

It will display archive coats as well as the full men's and women's ranges and have a dedicated womenswear room.

The opening is another step in a remarkable recovery for a venerable brand that lost its way.

In the Nineties the company was in so much financial trouble it came close to shutting one of its two UK factories, in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire. Its other is in Nelson, Lancashire. All its coats are still made in Britain.

The firm was bought by Tokyo based Yagi Tsusho in 2007.

It dates back to 1823 when Scottish scientist Charles Mackintosh invented the process of spreading rubber on to cotton to create waterproof fabric.