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] 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]

The company launched an app, SnapShorts, allowing customers to share pictures of themselves wearing Orlebar Brown shorts.^[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, South Kensington, Covent Garden,^[10] Mayfair,^[11] Canary Wharf (opened in 2013)^[12] and in June 2016 opened shops in Wimbledon Village and Royal Exchange.^[11]

Orlebar Brown also has a physical international presence with shops in Cannes and St Tropez in France, Playa del Carmen in Mexico, Soho and East Hampton^[13] in New York City, Istanbul in Turkey, Noosa in Australia and Knokke in Belgium^[14]

As well as multiple physical shops.^[15] 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.^[16] Orlebar Brown operates a 550,000 square feet distribution centre in Wortley, Leeds.^[16]

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

Daniel Craig wore Orlebar Brown sky blue “Setter” shorts in the role of James Bond in the 2012 film Skyfall.^[17][18]

Various celebrities have been seen wearing Orlebar Brown swim shorts including Hugh Jackman, David Gandy^[4] Johannes Huebl^[19] and Gary Lineker^[20][21]

David Cameron has been seen on holiday in an Orlebar Brown "Sebastian" shirt^[22] and, more recently, was photographed on his first holiday since ending his time as UK Prime Minister in a pair of Orlebar Brown “Bulldog” swim shorts^{[23][24][25][26]}

References

External links

Official website