John Lobb
| John Lobb Limited | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Limited |
| Seat | London , UK |
| management | John Lobb, Jonathan Lobb, William Lobb, John White |
| Number of employees | 36 |
| Branch | Shoemaker |
| Website | www.johnlobbltd.co.uk |
| As of April 30, 2018 | |
John Lobb is an internationally known shoemaking company from London , named after its founder , which has existed since 1849.
The company - or in his lifetime the person John Lobb (1829-1895) - was due to the technically excellent crafted shoes by the top price segment and due Awards British royal family as " shoemaker of kings and the king of shoemakers called". The shop in London's St. James's Street produces and sells as a sole proprietorship under the management of descendants of John Lobb to this day exclusively made-to-measure and individually handmade shoes for men and women as well as accessories . Independently of this, a division belonging to the French Hermès Group has existed since 1976 under the name John Lobb , which goes back to the same company founder, has been selling bespoke and Goodyear welted ready - made shoes worldwide since 1982 in the top price segment for men and through an international network of exclusive John Lobb Boutiques .
Establishment and development of the company
The story of the bespoke shoemaker's workshop began with an accident in which John Lobb, the son of a Cornish farmer , broke his leg and was disabled after an unsuccessful operation. Unfit for work as a farmer, he learned the shoemaking trade in London. Emigrated to Australia to search for gold , he made the gold prospectors boots with hollow heels in which they could store the gold nuggets they had found . These boots were so successful that Lobb set up shop in Sydney as a shoemaker and founded the company named after him in 1849. At an exhibition he won a gold medal with his boots, which spurred him on to start a daring project. He made a pair of exclusive riding boots , which he sent unsolicited in a leather box to the then Prince of Wales in his British homeland. This then appointed him in Lobb's absence as supplier to the royal court , whereby the company John Lobb received the first “ Royal Warrant ” in 1863 (expired with the death of Edward VII in 1910).
In 1866 Lobb returned to London and opened his first store on Regent Street . In 1880 a branch was opened on St James's Street not far from St James's Palace . Lobb died in 1895. After his death, the company was continued by his son William Hunter Lobb († 1916). In 1902 a John Lobb branch in Paris (47, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré ) opened its doors under William Hunter's direction . After William Hunter's death, his wife Betsy Lobb († 1956) led the company, followed by their son William († 1963). In 1939 Williams younger brother Eric Lobb (1907-1993), a trained farmer, joined the family business during the Great Depression ; his brother left the company. Before the Second World War , the company was threatened with bankruptcy, and only because Eric Lobb was not allowed to do military service , he continued to run the company. The branch on Regent Street has closed. During the World War, the company was run from a rural branch for security reasons . The bombing destroyed the property on St. James's Street and Lobb moved to a neighboring house. After World War II and with the economy recovering, Eric Lobb went on a hugely successful trade tour of the UK and USA to sell his shoes. In 1956, Lobb was confirmed as royal shoemaker by the Duke of Edinburgh . Since 1962, after moving again, the shop has been a few doors down at 7-9 St James's Street, where Lord Byron once resided. In 1963 Queen Elizabeth II awarded John Lobb with a Royal Warrant (not renewed by the Queen in 2008) and in 1980 the company received the Royal Warrant from Prince Charles . For almost thirty years the shop on St. James's Street was allowed to adorn itself with three Royal Warrants (only Queen Mum could have given a fourth during her lifetime). Over the years the John Lobb company bought a good dozen shoemaker's workshops and integrated them into their own company.
John Lobb Ltd. , London
John Lobb Ltd. , where Eric Lobb worked well into his old age, has only one branch at 9 St. James's Street in London and exclusively manufactures bespoke shoes and boots of all kinds, mainly for men, but also for women. The range also includes accessories such as belts, small leather goods, gaiters and shoe care utensils. In the London store, over 30,000 made lasts are stored as impressions of the customers' feet, which can be used to work further models. After taking measurements, there are no further fittings until the individually manufactured shoes are handed over. The production of the shoes can take up to six months or more. The currently valid two Royal Warrants are valid only for the business in the St. James's Street and decorate next to the John Lobb lettering in handwriting and the signature " London • Paris • New York, " the insoles of bespoke shoes manufactured there. Prince Charles is known for primarily wearing John Lobb shoes from St. James's Street. Custom made shoes from St. James's Street start at around £ 2,500 . Representative of John Lobb Ltd. several times a year go on trade trips to Great Britain, continental Europe, the USA, Russia as well as Japan and Hong Kong in order to meet customer requirements on site. The family business, which has not changed the process of shoe production since 1863, is now in the fifth generation of Jonathan Lobb, great-great-grandson of John Lobb, as of 2012. His father, John Hunter Lobb, the founder's great-grandson, also still works for the company.
John Lobb SAS , Paris
When that of John Lobb Ltd. The Paris branch opened in 1902 should be closed in 1976, the French luxury goods group Hermès acquired the rights to the name John Lobb . The custom shoe workshop on St. James's Street in London, which still belongs to the descendants of John Lobb, was and is an exception. In the years that followed, Hermès built up a worldwide sales network with John Lobb boutiques and in 1982 also introduced Goodyear-welted ready -to-wear shoes from John Lobb , which are no longer custom-made. Initially, the ready-to-wear shoes were made on behalf of Hermès by the British competitor and shoe manufacturer Edward Green in Northampton . Hermès acquired the majority of shares in Edward Green in 1990 and wanted to shut down the rival brand after a few years, but this did not succeed even after a legal dispute . The collaboration was ended in 1994 and since then the John Lobb clothing line has been sold in a plant in Northampton that was bought by Edward Green via the Hermès subsidiary JL & Company Ltd. manufactured ("Made in England"). The bespoke shoes come from Paris ("Made in France"); the bespoke workshop is located at 32 rue de Mogador in Paris. The standard range does not include shoes for women, but also accessories such as belts, small leather goods and stockings for men, as well as shoe care utensils. In the late 2000s there were collaborations through shoe collections with Paul Smith and Aston Martin . As of 2012 there were in Paris (3 ×), Geneva, Moscow, Dubai, New York City, Costa Mesa, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hong Kong (2 ×), Taipei, Shanhai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Seoul John Lobb boutiques run by Hermès. Also in London, on Jermyn Street , there is a John Lobb shop of the French division. In addition, these models are offered through upscale specialist retailers, for example at Harrods , Bergdorf Goodman , Selfridges , Neiman Marcus or Lane Crawford (Hong Kong). A great-grandson of the founder, John Hunter Lobb, sits on the Hermès board of directors relating to John Lobb . The John Lobb SAS also sends representatives to so-called mass days at shoe retailers in various countries and cities. The John Lobb lettering in cursive on the insole of the bespoke shoes from the French division is the same as that on the articles from John Lobb Ltd. , only the Royal Warrants and the city names cannot be found on it. There is a separate logo for the ready-to-wear shoes. Until 2016 it consisted of the initials "JL". In 2016, the full name was presented in block letters as a new logo.
In 2014, the Brazilian-born fashion designer Paula Gerbase, who runs her own company 1205 with women's and men's fashion, was appointed Artistic Director at John Lobb Paris by Hermès. In 2016, she introduced a ready-made women's shoe line for the first time in the company's history.
The prices for the custom-made shoes from John Lobb SAS in Paris still exceed the prices of John Lobb Ltd. in London for their bespoke shoes. At John Lobb SAS , bespoke shoes are tried on before the shoes are delivered. London-based John Lobb Ltd. refers to the French division on its own website and states that it is proud of the fact that, under the aegis of Hermès, both a bespoke and clothing line under the name of John Lobb is run from Paris. The Parisian John Lobb SAS also refers to the London family business and their common roots on its website.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Total exemption full accounts made up to 30 April 2018 , at www.companieshouse.gov.uk , accessed on 21 August 2019
- ↑ Frequently Asked Questions , johnlobbltd.co.uk, accessed November 15, 2012
- ↑ What a gentleman likes, nzzfolio.ch, November 2007
- ↑ Keeping up with the Royals , welt.de, August 10, 2012
- ↑ Keeping up with the Royals , welt.de, August 10, 2012
- ^ John Lobb Ltd , nationalarchives.gov.uk, accessed November 14, 2012
- ↑ Obituary: Eric Lobb , independent.co.uk, February 9, 1993
- ↑ Better buy royally! ( Memento from February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) ft.de, August 25, 2005
- ↑ Please mixed , spiegel.de, March 20, 1989
- ↑ Hofschneider , abendblatt.de, April 2, 2008
- ↑ Voguepedia: Hermès ( Memento of September 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), vogue.com, accessed: November 14, 2012
- ↑ Frequently Asked Questions , johnlobbltd.co.uk, accessed November 14, 2012