Crombie (clothing)

J&J Crombie Ltd. was founded by John Crombie and his son James in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1805, making it one of Scotland’s oldest brands.[2] Crombie has manufactured from several different mills in Scotland and England for over two centuries, initially at Cothal Mills in Aberdeen, and most famously from 1859 at Grandholm Mill also in Aberdeen. Crombie began as a producer of luxury cloth, which it sold to cloth merchants and direct to London tailors. By the 1850s, Crombie had won quality awards from Queen Victoria and Napoleon III at the Great Exhibition in London and the Exposition Universelle in Paris respectively. Later, Crombie expanded from simply manufacturing the fabric for other producers, to creating coats under its own name. A key factor in Crombie's expansion, from the 1860s onwards, was the receipt of military contracts. Crombie supplied 'Rebel Grey' cloth for the Confederate Army in the American Civil War, and also supplied officers' uniforms to the British Army and Royal Air Force in the First and Second World Wars. After the Second World War, Crombie became part of Illingworth Morris; at that time Britain's largest woollen textile company, of which actress Pamela Mason was the majority shareholder.

In 1883 the company registered its incorporated status as a company limited by shares under the Companies Acts 1862 to 1880, in Scotland on the 20th of November.[3] The founding Crombie family sold their interest in the company in 1928, to another British textile family, the Salts (famous as the founders of Saltaire in West Yorkshire). Crombie had a wide-ranging export market into Japan, Russia, and the United States. with Japanese sales said to have climaxed to £50,000 per year in the 1920s – which equates to approximately £2.35M in today’s market.[4] By the 1930s Crombie coats had commenced advertisements for both male and female genders in Canadian, Australian and US newspapers.[5] The Crombie trademark was registered on September 7, 1949. Initially the design type was said to hold Shields containing figurative elements or inscriptions. The trademark was later adapted with the addition of various leaves and thistles in 2011.[6]

Beginning in the early 1960s, Crombie coats were fashionable among mods, who saw them as a stylish item of clothing that enhanced their clean-cut image. It was an alternative to the popular fishtail parka or trenchcoat. As the 1960s wore on, and into the early 1970s, Crombie-style coats were popular within the skinhead and suedehead subcultures, although very few skinheads would have been able to afford a brand new Crombie coat.

In the 1980s the company was taken private by its chairman, being acquired by Alan Lewis, former vice-chairman for business in the Conservative Party. With the oversight of Lewis, the Crombie organisation shifted its focus, formally branding its collections under its namesake and moving production to Yorkshire.[5]

Crombie has long marketed itself to international statesmen and royalty. It has enjoyed particular success in Russia, where Crombie began supplying the Tsarist court from 1880, and even in 1984 it was observed that Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev was wearing a Crombie coat when he visited Britain that December. Crombie lists King George VI, Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Dwight D Eisenhower and John F Kennedy among its historic customers. Alongside this list of patrons, actor Jack Nicholson was featured to wear several styles of Crombie coat in his role as The Joker in the 1989 film, Batman.[7] Crombie is also known to hold the rights to Savile Row suit tailor Tommy Nutter's brand name, having backed him financially in the 1980s and early 1990s.[8]

In 1990, production at the Grandholm Mill ceased, and was moved to other mills in Scotland and England. (The A-listed Grandholm factory site was converted into a residential project in 2005. Part of the mill is now an Indian restaurant called The Spice Mill, which has maintained the original elements of the factory.)[5] From 1995 to 2004, Crombie also held the Royal Warrant as a supplier to the Prince of Wales. In 2014 it was announced the new Twelfth Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi, will wear a Crombie with a red lining.[9] Such was the success of Peter Capaldi’s role as Doctor Who, Crombie saw an increase in sales by 100%.[2] The Crombie style incorporated a heavy, dark, woollen, knee-length overcoat paired with a red, silk, handkerchief in the upper pocket.[10] In 1996 designer William Johnston Ewart, inspired by the deep tones of the iconic Crombie Overcoating Range, created a corporate tartan. This was placed on the Scottish Register of Tartans for the Crombie House Check.[11]

The company changed its name to J&J Crombie Limited on the 8th October 2004, and remains active.[12] The company has two registered directors, namely: Christopher Stephen Smith and I.M. Registrars Limited.[13]

In March 2019, Alan Lewis, announced that the brand had been placed on the market for sale.[14]

They had three stand-alone stores: in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. However, following substantial losses, two of the three stores were closed. By November 2019 the remaining London-based shop was sold to a private Asian buyer for £9.9M.[7] Crombie is also sold through independent retailers, such as Harrods in Britain, and comparable department stores in North America, Europe and East Asia. Crombie also sells worldwide via its website.[14]

Following recognition of the worldwide Covid-19 Pandemic, on the 29th of April 2020 Crombie gave notice via its social media channels that their online store would be closing.[15] And subsequently, on the 16th May 2020, Crombie shared a press release stating they had suspended operations until further notice. A message was placed on their website as a holding page to mirror this announcement.[7][16] The announcement received coverage in Fashion Network on 7 September 2020, reflecting that the future of the Crombie organisation was uncertain.[17]

• Official Crombie website
• Website of Crombie parent group