Brooks Brothers
| Brooks Brothers
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| legal form | |
| founding | 1818 |
| Seat | New York City , United States |
| Branch | textiles |
| Website | www.brooksbrothers.com |
Brooks Brothers is the oldest US men's outfitter still in existence . Today the company offers clothing , shoes , accessories and perfume for men, women and children as well as home articles in the middle to upper price segment via its own international branch network . Brooks Brothers is known for classic business wardrobe as well as casual wear in the Preppy or Ivy League style.
history
The company was founded in New York City in 1818 as H. & DH Brooks & Co by Henry Sands Brooks . In 1854 the company name was changed by the heirs to Brooks Brothers . The company's headquarters have been on Madison Avenue in New York since 1915 . The company has been owned by the Retail Brand Alliance since 2001 . Brooks Brothers manufactured exclusively in the USA, Western Europe and Canada until the 1990s. Nowadays, with a few exceptions, it is mainly produced in Asia. There were around 200 Brooks Brothers stores in the United States in the late 2000s. In Great Britain, France, Italy, Chile, Peru, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore there were numerous other stores in the early 2010s. Since 1991 there are also factory outlets ; In 2011 there were 102 in the USA and 25 more worldwide. Trademark of the company since 1850 a stylized Golden Fleece (engl. Golden Fleece ) or an encompassed in a gold loop sheep (a symbol Flemish and British wool merchant of the 15th century). The company is proud to have been selected as a men's outfitter by numerous US presidents , from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama . Even Andy Warhol was an avowed fan of Brooks Brothers.
As early as 1845, the company was offering bespoke suits and military uniforms as well as off-the- shelf men's suits , when it was still common practice to have a suit made by a tailor. In 1896, Brooks Brothers introduced the first button-down shirt under the brand name Polo , after this type of shirt collar was spotted among British polo players . Ralph Lauren , who worked as a salesman at Brooks Brothers from 1962 to 1964, acquired the rights to the Polo brand in 1967 and thus founded his own company, Polo Ralph Lauren . In 1946 Brooks Brothers was sold by the heirs to the Washington department store chain Julius Garfinckel & Co., Inc. (liquidated in 1990). Hollywood stars like Cary Grant , Clark Gable and James Stewart were prominent customers of Brooks Brothers. In 1949 the company entered the field of women's fashion for the first time with a small selection of blouses . Before that, female customers, including celebrities like Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich , had bought men's models from Brooks Brothers. Women's fashion has expanded over the years. In 1969 there were a total of ten Brooks Brothers shops in major US cities . In 1979 the first store opened in Tokyo . Since then, the presence in Japan has been greatly expanded. In 1980 the American department store chain Allied Stores Corp. the Brooks Brothers company. 1988 Brooks Brothers was by the British retail chain Marks & Spencer bought by the company in 2001 to Retail Brand Alliance resold (RBA). RBA is owned by the Italian businessman and billionaire Claudio Del Vecchio, whose father Leonardo Del Vecchio founded the eyewear manufacturer Luxottica . 2005 saw the inauguration of two Brooks Brothers stores in London for the first time; A branch in Paris followed in 2006. Since the end of 2011, the men's and children's collections can also be purchased outside of Nordstrom's own branches .
On July 8, 2020, the company u. a. due to loss of revenue by the COVID-19-pandemic in Wilmington (Delaware) filed under Chapter 11 .
Collections
- In addition to the classic Brooks Brothers fashion line for women and men in the upper middle price segment, there is also a children's fashion line for girls and boys and a home collection with bed linen, towels and accessories for upscale home furnishings.
- 2006 Brooks Brothers announced under the name Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers (dt. Black fleece ), a designer fashion -collection in collaboration with the New York fashion designer Thom Browne , which was launched in 2007 and served until the end of 2015 for men and women. Browne, who is known for his own fashion brand named after him for ankle-length men's suit trousers or the use of the colors of the French flag and who also works for Moncler , created fashion collections for Brooks Brothers that were priced above the rest of the range and made of high-quality materials, some of which are produced in the USA. Brooks Brothers ran its own boutiques in New York City and San Francisco for the sub-brand Black Fleece , which was available in Brooks Brothers stores and online . Brooks Brothers ended their collaboration with Browne at the end of 2015, initially leaving it open as to whether the Black Fleece brand would continue without Browne. Since then, no further Black Fleece articles have been presented.
- In spring 2013, Brooks Brothers launched the slightly cheaper Red Fleece collection (previously Brooks Brothers University ) for women and men with colorful preppy designs in narrower cuts for a more youthful target group.
- In autumn 2016, Brooks Brothers launched the high-priced Golden Fleece Collection for men as a top category in the BB range.
Others
- Several Hollywood films have been sponsored by the company
- official outfitter of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
- official outfitter for American TV presenter Stephen Colbert
- official outfitter of Kermit the frog in "The Muppets" (2011)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Suzanne Kapner / Soma Biswas, Brooks Brothers, Hurt by Casual Fridays and Coronavirus, Files for Bankruptcy , Wall Street Journal of July 8, 2020.
- ↑ Suits redefined - Thom Browne , menshealth.de, February 15, 2009
- ↑ Red Dawn: Brooks Brothers Introduces Red Fleece ivy-style.com, May 14, 2013
- ↑ Vello d'Oro: Brooks Launches New Golden Fleece Collection ivy-style.com, September 22, 2016