Alfred Dunhill Limited (known and stylised as dunhill) is a British

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

, specialising in

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

, custom and

bespoke ''Bespoke'' () describes anything commissioned to a particular specification, altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser. In contemporary usage, ''bespoke'' has become a general marketing and branding concep ...

menswear Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

goods, and accessories. The company is headquartered in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It also owns and operates a leather and smoking pipe workshop in Walthamstow. Dunhill is currently owned by Richemont Holdings (UK) Limited (formerly Vendôme Luxury Group plc) and managed by CEO ad interim Andrew Holmes.

History

Early history

Alfred Dunhill Limited was developed by

Alfred Dunhill Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill Limited, a London-based luxury goods firm (owned by Swiss company Richemont), and the Dunhil ...

(1872–1959) after he inherited his father's

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

ry business on London's

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...

at the age of 21 in 1893. Alfred Dunhill developed a line of automobile accessories called "Dunhill's Motorities". This first collection included car horns and lamps, leather

overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most often used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with or referred to as #T ...

s, goggles, picnic sets and timepieces, which provided the company with the

strap line In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

of "Everything But The Motor". Within a few years, the business moved towards the luxury market with the opening of two Dunhill Motorities stores in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. In 1904 Dunhill had patented a "Windshield Pipe" to help a driver smoke while driving. Dunhill's first tobacconist and pipe shop opened in 1907 on Duke Street. Dunhill retired from the business in the 1920s, leaving the position of managing director and president to his brother Alfred-Henry, then daughter Mary, and finally his grandson Richard.

Later history

In the mid-1950s, Dunhill produced one of the first

butane Butane () is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane exists as two isomers, ''n''-butane with connectivity and iso-butane with the formula . Both isomers are highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gases that quickly vaporize at ro ...

gas lighters. This design has remained relatively unchanged since and was regularly used by

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

in both print and on the screen. In 1967,

Rothmans International Rothmans International PLC was a British tobacco manufacturer. Its brands included Rothmans, Player's and Dunhill. Its international headquarters were in Hill Street, London and its international operations were run from Denham Place in Denham ...

, which was controlled by

Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert OMSG (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman and conservationist. He was born on 4 October, 1916 and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of the Union of Sou ...

Rembrandt Group The Rembrandt Group, officially known as Rembrandt Trust (Proprietary) Limited, is a South African tobacco and industrial conglomerate founded by tycoon Anton Rupert who oversaw its eventual transition to the industrial and luxury branded goods ...

, acquired 50.6% of the company. By 1975, Dunhill had sales of £35 million, 75% of which came from lighters. In 1977, the company acquired 59.6% of the West German manufacturer and distributor of high quality writing instruments, Montblanc, for Deutschemark 6.4 million and the brand was used on a wide range of luxury goods other than pens. By the late 1970s, Alfred Dunhill was offering a range of 3,500 luxury products in more than 20 stores round the world. In 1979 and 1980, Dunhill acquired 36.8% of jewellers,

Asprey Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books. With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for ro ...

and tried to gain control but failed, although made £1 million profit from the venture. By 1985, the group's revenues had increased over ten times in ten years to £450 million, with only 10% now being from the traditional business. In March 1985, the company expanded further, acquiring French fashion house,

Chloé Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. In 1953, Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative growth of Chloé. It ...

, for £6.5 million and took its ownership in Montblanc up to 100% from 91%. Alfred Dunhill began sponsoring golf tournaments in 1985, with the first annual

Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...

golf tournament, following up in 2001 with its successor, the

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is a golf tournament on the European Tour. It is played in September or October, on three different links courses, centered on the "home of golf", St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The tournament is a pro-am, ...

. By 1993, Rothmans owned 57% of Dunhill and it was decided to separate the groups, with one for tobacco (a new Rothmans International) and one for luxury goods (Vendôme Luxury Group), with Dunhill becoming wholly owned by Vendôme, together with

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

. Vendôme was controlled by

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

, founded by Anton Rupert's son

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

. Dunhill also released fragrances, with a ten-year licensing agreement with Inter Parfums, Inc. made in 2013, replacing a prior agreement with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

References

External links

Official website

on John Flores Graphics website {{Authority control Clothing brands of the United Kingdom High fashion brands Richemont brands Fountain pen and ink manufacturers Cigarette lighter brands British suit makers Manufacturing companies based in London Clothing companies established in 1893 1893 establishments in England British brands Pipe smoking Pipe makers

History

Early history

Later history

See also

References

Further reading

External links