The Edinburgh Woollen Mill was founded in 1946 by Drew Stevenson as the Langholm Dyeing and Finishing Company, originally dyeing wool yarn to order. His son David Stevenson opened the first retail store on Randolph Place in Edinburgh in 1970, followed by the first English store in Carlisle in 1972, where the company is still headquartered today. It now trades as Purepay Retail Limited and runs around 200 stores across Great Britain and Ireland, selling its own knitwear and cashmere alongside stocked brands including James Pringle and Gleneagles.