The Montebury — What is the history behind Ettinger?

Robert Ettinger — Ettinger was started by my grandfather and father in 1934. They really always started to try and source, make and buy top-end merchandise. To this day we have continued at the very top-end level. The factory used to be in London because London used to be where the top-end makers of leather were based. It was all around Clerkenwell, Smithfield meat market and up until about 15 years ago there were several small units still making there. Rents and rates closed everybody down and we then decided to move up to Walsall and at the same time, we bought some other businesses who were in the leather goods industry. This allowed us to carry on making in the UK.

Did the business begin with manufacturing or was it simply buying and selling other company’s products?

Robert Ettinger — In the very beginning, it was started by buying leather goods from all over Europe. In the 50s we opened our own factory in London and it has grown to where we are now. Walsall is an amazing town. The factory we are in was actually built as a leather factory in 1890 which is one of the reasons why we never moved. Leather factories tend to be long, narrow buildings with lots of windows so that everybody has natural light in order to see the detail. We started with bigger products, such as luggage and umbrella stands but in the last twenty years or so, we have gone into much smaller products such as purses and wallets. It seems to be where the market is. I still have some of the leather luggage we made. It is beautiful but it weighs too much because leather in big pieces is very heavy. Now with the advent of paying for every kilo, it doesn’t work anymore.

When did you first become involved with the business?

Robert Ettinger — I started working in the business as a kid in the holidays, helping out in the warehouse. I really became involved when I was twenty-six/twenty-seven. My father sent me around the world to work for other companies such as jewellery businesses and manufacturing companies, so that I could learn about business. I did a business apprenticeship in Germany for two years and then took a few years off. I then came back and started working in the business.

Were there some things that you felt needed to be changed so that the company could survive?

Robert Ettinger — About fifteen years ago, we felt that we had to specialize in smaller leather goods. The market was there to build the company into a small leather goods company. We changed almost overnight. We stopped making the luggage, which was a struggle to make, and started doing what we are doing now.

How are the products manufactured?

Robert Ettinger — It is all made by hand. You have sewing machines and machines that cut out the pieces but everything else is hand made, and it has to be. You cannot do it to this level of quality with a machine because there has not been a machine invented which can do it. Leather making is still on the whole made by hand because of the nature of the material. It is a natural substance and no two pieces will ever be the same, so you have to have a feel for it, which a machine would not. You can mechanize a bit more, which the Americans and Chinese have done, but it is mostly labour.

There is a lot of emphasis on the Chinese market and companies are outsourcing their production to China. What has happened to the British leather goods industry?

Robert Ettinger — It has gone to China or India, largely because quite a lot of the factories were making more at the middle to lower-end of the market and it came down to a matter of price. It was understandable and that is why a lot of manufacturing in Europe has gone to lower wage cost countries because it is a matter of price. If your competitor starts to import from China you have to follow, otherwise you go out of business. For companies at the top-end, you can survive because you are manufacturing something with a name and heritage. People are willing to pay more for something like that. If you are selling just a wallet or a purse, then it is about price, but if you are selling an Ettinger wallet or purse, then people buy because of the name. Although, one or two of the big luxury brands are starting to make their leather goods in the Far East.

Is that a bad thing?

Robert Ettinger — No, it is not a bad thing. It is about making more profit at that level, if you are at the top-end. Since September 2008, which is when the banks started crashing around us, there was almost a resurgence of people wanting things from England and Europe. I think it changed people’s way of thinking. There were things going on in the world that were not done in the right way and so people turned back to their roots. We launched our retail website in that September, which was a very good thing for us. We are now interacting with the end user and they are telling us what they like and do not like. It is helping us as a business to improve what we are doing and to understand our customers.

A lot of luxury brands are hesitant to sell online because of fear of dilution. What are your thoughts on this?

Robert Ettinger — Ten/fifteen years ago the luxury brands said “we are not going to sell online”, but now everybody is doing it. They are starting to blog and tweet, so technology is changing the way we are all selling and thinking.

Do you see a future where the physical store is inferior to the online store?

Robert Ettinger — No, I think it is the same as the argument about whether books and magazines will disappear. They will stay but company sales online are going to increase and they are going to make much more money online than by renting premises in expensive shopping streets, but they will still be there. Human beings like to be looked after by people, to pick things up and try them, of course that still matters. We have opened up our showroom (by appointment) and people love to come in and smell the leather and to talk and touch. That will stay. Our biggest retail market is Japan, where we are in over 120 stores. We get a few Japanese people coming into the showroom, not to buy, but just to experience. I go to Japan quite a lot and it is quite hard to explain to people how the Japanese are interested in how things are made and finished.

Did some of your products have to change for the Japanese market?

Robert Ettinger — Very much so. We have a very good partner company in Japan who handle all of our sales and if you want to work with Japan, you have to tweak things for that market. They are very particular, in a good way.

What is the future of Ettinger?

Robert Ettinger — The brand is only just starting to become recognized. We are designers and makers and now we are moving into the retail side. We can see from both the retailers who buy from us and particularly from our online sales that we are starting to sell all over the world. We have orders coming in from countries we thought didn’t even know us. We think we can build a worldwide niche brand. We might down the line open a few shops in capital cities, but we do not intend to have two hundred shops worldwide. Right now, we are learning a huge amount from selling online. We do not want to rush things and lose our quality by making too many products, too quickly. We are starting to make small travel items but have no plans to do large luggage at the moment. We have a wonderful collaboration with Bentley. All of the products are dual-branded, so it says ‘Ettinger London for Bentley.’ These collaborations are great for us and for Bentley. We also have a royal warrant, which is very important for us. It creates a sense of trust, especially online.