Orlebar Brown

Orlebar Brown
Industry Fashion
Founded 2007
Founder Adam Brown and Julia Simpson-Orlebar
Headquarters UK, London
Products Clothing
Website www.orlebarbrown.com

Orlebar Brown is a British clothing brand specialising in tailored men’s swim shorts.

The company was founded by photographer Adam Brown after he identified a gap in the market for smart men’s swimwear, and was launched in March 2007.

Today, the company is still directed by Adam Brown, as well as CEO Paul Donoghue. They are based in West London and employ over 50 people.

Products

Orlebar Brown specialises in men’s swim shorts based on the 17-piece pattern of a pair of traditional men’s suit trousers. They feature a four-part shaped waistband, zip fly closure and side fasteners.[1] The Italian zippers on the fly and the back pocket are applied by hand, although the pocket itself and darts are machine applied.[1]

While Orlebar Brown is best known for its swimwear, 55 per cent of the company’s sales are from non-swimwear[2] with the company offering a selection of rash guards, shorts, polo shirts, long and short sleeve shirts, jumpers, sweatshirts and, from 2016, shoes that can be worn in water.[3]

In 2018, Orlebar Brown introduced Summer Sport, a capsule collection featuring technical fabrics, designed to equip customers for summer activities such as beach volleyball and surfing. The campaign was fronted by Jeremy Jauncey, founder of Beautiful Destinations.

The company has an app, #SnapShorts, which allows customers to design their own swim shorts by uploading a photograph. Their design can be made into a bespoke pair of shorts or shared on social media.[4]

History

In summer 2006, Adam Brown had the idea for Orlebar Brown on holiday in India and decided to partner with an old acquaintance Julia Simpson-Orlebar to launch the brand.[5]

The Orlebar Brown website officially launched in March 2007, selling to 105 countries.[1][6]

Julia Simpson-Orlebar left the business amicably in 2008 however she remains a shareholder.[5]

In 2011, the Orlebar Brown US website was launched, expanding their horizons internationally. Today 30 per cent of their business comes from the US.[2]

In August 2013, Orlebar Brown raised £8 million (US$12.4 million) from private-equity firm Piper, in exchange for a minority stake[7] and appointed Paul Donoghue as global commercial director.[8]

In 2014, the business made £12m, up from £7m the year before.[1] The brand expects to reach £20 million (about US$28.8 million) in revenue in 2016.[7]

Online and offline presence

Physical shops

Orlebar Brown opened their first shop on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill, London in 2011.[9]

They now have shops in Notting Hill, Mayfair, Canary Wharf,[10], Royal Exchange, Wimbledon, South Kensington and Bicester Village[11].

Orlebar Brown also has a physical international presence with shops in Cannes and St Tropez in France, Marbella in Spain, Mykonos in Greece, Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Soho and East Hampton[12] in New York City, Miami, Turkey, Noosa and Bondi Beach in Australia, Knokke in Belgium[13], Kuwait and Dubai.

As well as multiple physical shops.[14] and an online presence, Orlebar Brown also has over 300 wholesale accounts including Selfridges, Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys New York[1] and franchises around the world[7]

Infrastructure

Orlebar Brown’s headquarters and offices are located in West London. In 2013 they appointed Torque, a logistics company, to manage all of their European distribution.[15] Orlebar Brown operates a 550,000 square feet distribution centre in Wortley, Leeds.[15]

Orlebar Brown’s swim shorts are made in Portugal by the factory Petratex where they pass by a minimum 12-stage manufacture process.[1]

Celebrity endorsement and collaborations

Daniel Craig wore Orlebar Brown sky blue 'Setter' shorts in the role of James Bond in the 2012 film Skyfall.[16][17]

Various celebrities have been seen wearing Orlebar Brown swim shorts including Matt Hamilton, Hugh Jackman, Carlton Cole, David Gandy[4] Johannes Huebl[18] and Gary Lineker[19][20]

In March 2018, Orlebar Brown collaborated with Australian Formula 1 racing driver Daniel Ricciardo for a collection of limited-edition swim shorts.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Luke Leitch (25 April 2015) Inside The Luxury Swim Shorts Boom, Esquire. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  2. 1 2 http://www.cityam.com/221926/making-splash Article in City A.M., 2015
  3. ↑ http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/after-office/verano-deportivo-y-con-estilo.html Article in El Financiero, (Spanish) 2016
  4. 1 2 Stephen Doig (16 May 2015) Summer's best swim trunks, The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  5. 1 2 Orlebar Brown: Forget board shorts — here is swimwear to make a real splash, Evening Standard, 13 January 2014. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  6. ↑ http://www.piper.co.uk/news/piper-invests-8m-in-fast-growing-luxury-menswear-brand-orlebar-brown
  7. 1 2 3 https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/orlebar-brown-expands-franchising Article in The Business of Fashion, 2016
  8. ↑ http://www.drapersonline.com/news/orlebar-brown-seeks-overseas-expansion/5050962.fullarticle Article in Drapers Online, 2013
  9. ↑ https://www.fashionunited.co.uk/fashion-news/fashion/orlebar-brown-to-open-london-flagship-store-2012040914485 Article in Fashion United, 2012
  10. ↑ https://www.fashionunited.co.uk/fashion-news/design/orlebar-brown-opens-biggest-uk-store-2013103018882
  11. ↑ https://www.drapersonline.com/news/bicester-village-unveils-30-new-retail-units/7026623.article
  12. ↑ http://hamptons-magazine.com/heidi-klein-and-orlebar-brown-open-in-hamptons Article in Hamptons Magazine, 2016
  13. ↑ https://view.publitas.com/kh_mag/kh-magzine-21-nl/page/8-9 Article in KH Magazine, 2015
  14. ↑ https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21670044-amid-great-migration-online-few-e-retailers-open-real-world-outposts-popping-up-everywhere Article in The Economist, 2015
  15. 1 2 http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/513730-torque-wins-european-distribution-deal-with-orlebar-brown.html Article in The Business Desk, 2013
  16. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/sales/10856744/Orlebar-Brown-stirred-by-007-effect.html Article in The Telegraph, 2014
  17. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24728406 Article on BBC.co.uk, 2013
  18. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3121620/Olivia-Palermo-s-model-husband-Johannes-Huebl-reveals-SWIMSUITS-tailored-perfection.html Article in The Daily Mail 2015
  19. ↑ https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324787004578494800224961378 Article in The Wall Street Journal, 2013
  20. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3723500/How-David-Cameron-s-225-shorts-loved-listers-including-Hugh-Jackman-David-Gandy.html Article in The Daily Mail Aug 2016
  21. ↑ https://www.gq.com.au/style/news/daniel-ricciardo-has-dropped-a-new-line-of-swim-shorts-with-orlebar-brown/image-gallery/8bdaddab0ebf5e2e4e7dbdc3fc655ec3 Article on GQ.com, 2018

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.