So many British companies making extremely high quality products in this country are better known abroad (often Japan and the Far East) than at home. Ettinger, makers of luxury leather goods, is one of these and, although they are now becoming very well-known in the UK, they join the likes of Tusting, SEH Kelly and others in having a high reputation for quality in foreign markets while being less well-known at home than many brands selling lower quality fashion products made abroad. If only we took the time to search for home-grown quality we would find many treasures.
I met Robert Ettinger (yes, this is another of our wonderful family companies) and he told me how the company was started by his father who came to London to sell leather goods in the 1930s. The business grew after the war, continuing to do so, more recently being awarded a Royal Warrant. Manufacturing is centred on Walsall in the Midlands, a centre of leather-making.
From the early seventies Mr Ettinger Senior began to sell to Japan and that country (and the Far East generally) remains a large market for the company. Robert Ettinger told me something of the Japanese appreciation of quality. Consumers will save up to buy a special item and their search for perfection meant that, originally, a product would be rejected if it was made with 9.5 stitches to the inch as opposed to 10. This demand for the best has helped Ettinger reach the peak of quality, a story I've heard told in a similar way by other British companies exporting to Japan.
This ability to make and sell products of the highest quality is driving major growth in the company. The factory has recently doubled in size and Ettinger sells in 170 stores in Japan as well as many more around the world. Robert sees an increase in web sales, perhaps indicating a new direction for the company. He also sees the rise of niche brands, with British-made and the Royal Warrant helping this process.
I left the meeting with a bridle leather card holder. An Ettinger product has to be handled to be really appreciated. Apart from the delicious smell, the bridle leather is silky to the touch and the stitching, colouring and construction second to none. A wide range of products, in many styles and colours, offers a wide choice to the consumer, from accessories, to wallets, bags and holdalls. For more information, see Ettinger online.
Next time you consider buying a leather product consider: is it made in England and is it made to the highest quality, as Ettinger products are?
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