Yahoo Lifestyle How This Beloved British Leather Goods Firm Has Been Winning Fans for Nearly a Century
In 1934—the same year that Donald Duck made his film debut, Bonnie and Clyde met their fate and F. Scott Fitzgerald published his last completed novel—a German immigrant named Gerry Ettinger established a leather goods business in London. 90 years on, the firm that bears his name remains a family business, now under the tutelage of his eldest son Robert, who took the reins in 1990.
Not only is Ettinger independent—a rarity in a luxury market dominated by a handful of acronyms and global capital—but it continues to manufacture all of its wallets, handbags and more in a historic Birmingham factory it bought outright in 1999, after relocating from London. The firm’s commitment to quality and British craftsmanship has not gone unnoticed, and the company was awarded a royal warrant from the then-Prince of Wales in 1996.
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On the occasion of its 90th year in business—which Ettinger marked with a capsule collection—we spoke to Robert about his journey from ski bum to CEO, how he makes to “Japanese standards” in the UK, and why leather isn’t going away in luxury goods anytime soon.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How has Ettinger managed to stay an independent, family-owned business for 90 years?
My father was keen to go into business, and he loved business… And then I turned up, although I almost didn’t join the business. I spent the first six years from the age of 20 skiing and ski teaching all over the Alps and in America and that’s when my father sat me down and said, “What are you going to do with your life?” After a bit of thought, I said “I’m going to join the family business.” It doesn’t always work that way; in many family businesses the children just don’t want to go into the business but with us, so far, it’s worked.
How has direct ownership of your factory benefitted the business?
Because we could change the way they did things, we improved the quality. It was at the time when we were starting to sell in Japan, and we thought [the factory] weren’t quite up to standard when we first bought them, but we worked on it for about a year or so, and now they’re making to Japanese standards. It’s the way we do everything now—Japanese standards.
Why do you feel it’s important to manufacture in the UK?
First of all, you have control. And if you start making abroad, making in Italy or somewhere, it doesn’t look British anymore. It’s hard to describe, but they have different hands and their products will look more Italian, maybe a little bit slimmer and lighter, whereas the British products have slightly thicker stitching and they’re built more for the British climate. Whereas in Italy, where it’s warm and sunny, it’s like Italian shoes. They’re much lighter, they’ve got smaller soles, and it’s the same in leather goods. We just wanted to stay looking very British.
What challenges come with continuing to manufacture domestically?
Britain just put up all the company taxes by quite a bit, so it costs more and more to take on labor here, and that does make it difficult compared to people who buy in the Far East, in China or wherever. But we are at a level—and luckily, we’ve always been at a level—where, although price matters, it’s not critical. It’s not just about the price. And I’m very glad that we’ve always been at the top end because otherwise we wouldn’t be making in the UK anymore.
I’ve heard of many brands experiencing challenges in sourcing their leathers. How have you managed to secure your supply?
Well, we’ve been working with some of the tanneries for 90 years. Our Capra Collection comes from a factory in France we were buying from in the 1930s. It’s a small, privately owned tannery. We prefer working with smaller tanneries because they tend to be family owned. We’re lucky we’ve got some very good suppliers in Europe. We only buy our leathers in Europe.
Another thing about your leathers I love is the striking use of color. Was that always part of the brand’s identity or did that emerge later?
It was the first collection that the factory in Birmingham made. They were making saddles for horses in the 1920s and suddenly the motor car came along and the need for saddles went down enormously. So, they had all this bridle leather and the inside of the saddles is lined in a panel hide, which is like the yellow [interiors] of our bridle collection. So, they thought we’ve got all this leather, what are we going to do with it? We’re not making saddles anymore. So, they made a wallet with the bridle leather outside—and in those days, it was just black—but in the inside was that yellowish panel hide. So, we’ve always had the use of color in products, it’s not something new to us. It was there from the beginning.
How significant to the business was the awarding of your royal warrant in 1996?
It was very significant because there are about 800 warrant holders. But if there’s a pack of cornflakes, for instance, and they’ve got the royal warrant on the side of the pack, they don’t sell more cornflakes because they’ve got the royal warrant. But for us to have it on the product and on the packaging and on the leaflets, it matters. And I found it helped me get into certain retailers because we did have the warrant, particularly in Japan. I went there one year, maybe 1995-1995, and they liked the product, but they didn’t buy any. And then I went back two years later, and I had the warrant on the product, and they started buying. And they said, “Yes, the warrant makes a difference to us.” It’s a sort of a seal of approval, of quality, and of trust. And, well, the rest is history. We’ve used it ever since.
What are the responsibilities of upholding that warrant?
The most important thing for the king—before that he was Prince of Wales—is your company’s green credentials. Every five years you have to fill out a 200-page document with incredible details about what you company is doing to be sustainable, to look after our planet. And if you don’t do it, or if it’s not good enough for them, you lose your warrant. So that’s been very good for us in a way. It’s been a great discipline for us to really think about sustainability and helping the planet. It’s also made us keep to our quality. You can’t drop the quality of the palace. The king buys a lot of Ettinger products all the time. And it’s got to be even better than the Japanese. It’s got to be 110% perfect.
Is there an indication of when your warrant will change over from the Prince of Wales’ to the king’s?
It’s in a transition phase at the moment. They haven’t even designed his new crest. So, all of us warrant holders, we’re just waiting.
What are your best-selling items today?
Our best-selling items used to be wallets and purses. And we do still sell a lot of wallets and purses, even though we are told we’re going into a cashless society. But now we’re bringing out a lot more gift items. We’re doing travel games, and pill cases and next year we’re bringing out some new golfing gifts. So, we’re just creating a bigger collection of slightly more interesting gift items. But on the back of the gift items, then you keep on selling your wallets and your credit card cases and purses and everything else.
Where is the demand for leather in the luxury accessories space going?
I think leather goods for the foreseeable future are always going to be made. Companies have tried making faux leather, but in fact almost all the faux leathers have petroleum products in them because they need to bind them. So, they’re not squeaky clean by any means. The other thing is leather is a byproduct and unless the whole world goes vegetarian it would be a terrible waste of not using the leather for a purpose—just eating the meat. So, it’s going to be around. They tried making shoes out of plastic material. Well, plastic doesn’t breathe. Leather breathes because all the hair follicles of the animal are like little holes. And that’s why leather’s so comfortable and cool to wear.
In the last few years, Ettinger has done collaborations with Todd Snyder, Morris & Co. and even the Netflix series The Gentlemen. How do you balance collaborations with staying true to your DNA?
Whenever we do a collaboration, we feel that the brand has got to be at the same level that Ettinger is. So that’s quite easy.
How has Ettinger managed to stay relevant for almost a century?
We come up with a lot of ideas, but we’re not high fashion. Our products are more timeless. And I think that’s why we are still around. People buy our products and know in six months’ time they won’t have to go and buy something else because it’s gone out of fashion. They’ll last. They’re enduring.
What’s key to ensuring that Ettinger retains its identity and independence for the next 90 years?
We work hard and we are ambitious but we’re not overly ambitious. We don’t want to grow to be a billion-pound company. We want to still have control of what we’re doing and that everybody in the company enjoys what they’re doing, from the people in the factory, to the marketing and the PR in London and New York. Business is about making a living of course but it’s also about getting some enjoyment out of it and liking what one does.
Shop Ettinger:
Capra 8oz Hunter Flask with 4 Cups
Like the other items in its Capra collection, this hunter flask is made from a supple goat leather sourced from a family-owned French tannery that’s been doing business with Ettinger since its inception.
Bridle Hide Billfold Wallet with 6 C/C
Now an iconic design, Ettinger’s bridle hide wallets feature a contrasting panel hide interior, a detail inspired by vintage saddle making.
90th Anniversary Bookmark
To mark nine decades in business, Ettinger produced a limited run of accessories in blue Capra goat leather, embossed with the company’s original Guardsman logo from 1934.
Capra Single Playing Card Case & Poker Dice Set
In recent seasons, Ettinger has leaned into the “gifts” category of leather goods, producing novel accessories like these travel cases for playing cards and poker dice, which are available as a set.
Morris & Co. X Ettinger Medium Zip Pouch
One of Ettinger’s more noteworthy collaborations has been with the heritage English design firm Morris & Co., which lined the interior of this zip pouch with its celebrated Blackthorn fabric.
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