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Penhaligon's

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penhaligon's
IndustryPerfumery
Founded1870 in London, England
FoundersWilliam Henry Penhaligon
Websitewww.penhaligons.com

Penhaligon's is a British perfume house founded in the late 1860s by William Henry Penhaligon, a Cornish barber who moved to London and became Court Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria.

History of family ownership

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Three generations of Penhaligons owned the company before it faded into obscurity.

William Henry Penhaligon and Jeavons (1870–1902)

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In 1870, William Henry Penhaligon (1837–1902) opened a barbershop[1]: 251  at The Hamman, 76 Jermyn Street, in London[2]—"hammam" is a generic word meaning "bathhouse", but The Hammam was a specific, large and luxurious bathhouse built under David Urquhart's direction with plans designed by Somers Clarke.[3]

The Hamman's cooling room

At that time, barbers often created basic toilet waters and hair tonics to use at the barber chair such as lavender waters and citrus splashes. Penhaligon's barbershop offered several of these, and the fragrances of these early toilet waters have been recreated, modernized, and reissued as commercial products by the company over the years, including Eau de Verveine, Eau Sans Pareil, Esprit de Lavande, Esprit du Roi, and Extract of Limes.[4] His first commercial fine fragrance was Hamman Bouquet (1872), which he marketed as specifically inspired by the bathouse in which he worked. In 1880, he and a hairdresser named William Millard Jeavons[a] formed Penhaligon & Jeavons, and in 1887 William Penhaligon's son, Walter, joined the company. They created two more fragrances, English Fern (1890) and Blenheim Bouquet (1890), the latter commissioned by Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.[7] In 1891, they opened a second barbershop behind the first, at 33 St James's Street.[8]

In April 1902, William Penhaligon died and Walter became a partner in the company. Three weeks after William Penhaligon died, Mr. Jeavons also died, which left Walter Penhaligon the sole proprietor of the company which was renamed Penhaligon's.[9][8] In January 1903, the Penhaligon and Jeavons company received their first royal warrant, from Queen Alexandra, with the right to use the Royal Arms.[10]

Walter Penhaligon (1902–1921)

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Walter was educated in North London and in Germany. After finishing his formal education, his father placed him for training with Julius Brauner, a hairdresser on Southhampton Row, for two years.[9][11] Afterward, Walter faced health problems and so he lived in his father's native town of Penzance to recover before beginning work in the laboratory, manufacturing perfume for Penhaligon and Jeavons.[9] Under his leadership, the company exported its perfumes to agents in Europe, the British colonies, South America, India, and China.[9]

A 1909 London newspaper identified Walter Penhaligon as 'one of the leading West End hairdressers' and a master of a guild for hairdressers, who spoke out against the dangerous practice of using petrol and carbon tetrachloride as a dry shampoo.[12] He also created several fragrances: Elisabethan Rose (1910),[4] Cornubia (1910),[13] whose name is a Latinised form of the Old English word for his father's homeland of Cornwall,[14] and Douro Eau de Portugal (1911), which originally—like Blenheim Bouquet (1902) before it—was a private commission and not available for sale to the public. Its creation was commissioned by Percy Croft for his personal use.[15] The House of Croft is one of the oldest port wine shippers, and Percy Croft was a member of that family and worked as a London director for the company.[16]

But by 1918, Walter's health was failing and his son Leonard began leading Penhaligon's.[17] In 1921, Walter Penhaligon died.[18][19]

Leonard Penhaligon (1921–1962)

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Eau de Cologne

Penhaligon's barbershop attracted prominent customers from politics and finance. During Walter Penhaligon's time, the banker Alfred de Rothschild was reported to have used the same Penhaligon barber for many years and to have left him £3,000 in his will.[20] In 1927, a Mr. Penhaligon told the Liverpool Evening Express that Joseph Chamberlain had been a customer in his father's time, that Lord Birkenhead was then a customer, and that David Lloyd George, who had once come regularly to the shop, had for the last few years been attended at his headquarters by the firm's chief assistant.[21] In 1946, a newspaper reported that George Ernest Parry, a barber with Penhaligon's since 1890, would be making a house call from the Bury Street shop to Winston Churchill, and that Parry had also cut the hair of other Prime Ministers including Lord Salisbury, Arthur Balfour, Lloyd George and Neville Chamberlain.[22]

In the late 1920s, the business moved to Bury Street. The original buildings were destroyed in The Blitz in 1941, but the store on Bury Street remained untouched.

In December 1955, Penhaligon's Ltd. received their second royal warrant, from Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with the right to display the Duke of Edinburgh's Arms.[23]

Modern corporate ownership

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Truefitt & Hill (1962–1975)

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In late 1962, Penhaligon's merged with Truefitt & Hill, a similar nearby business.[24]

The brand slowly fell into obscurity.

Sheila Pickles and Franco Zeffirelli (1975–1987)

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The two elderly perfumers who still produced Penhaligon's fragrances retired. Franco Zeffirelli suggested to Sheila Pickles that she buy the brand.[25][7] She did so, with financial backing from Zeffirelli,[26] buying the Penhaligon's brand in 1975 when its revenue was down to £6,000.[27] The elderly perfumers taught her the blending,[7] and she attended a perfumery course at a technical college, where she met a perfumer who helped her understand the Penhaligon's formula books.[28] Pickles hired Michael Peters's firm for the complete corporate identity and product branding, which leaned into the company's history and nostalgic appeal. Peters's firm designed the new store at London's Covent Garden to look the way people imagine a Victorian-era shop[29] and created a range of Victorian and Edwardian product packaging that were adorned with the Duke of Edinburgh's crests, bottles with neck ribbons, and specially-created typography and illustrations.[30] The branding won awards such as a Starpack bronze award in 1979, a Design and Art Direction (D&AD) silver award in 1982,[30] and the Presidential award from the Royal Society of Arts in 1983.[27]

By mid-1981, sales approached £500,000.[26] In 1987, they had five shops in London and a factory at King's Cross,[31] outlets in New York and Tokyo,[32] and revenue of £1.2 million.[28]

Laura Ashley (1987–1990)

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In the mid-1980s, Laura Ashley was expanding following a successful IPO. They acquired several complementary brands including Sandringham Leather Goods Ltd., Bryant of Scotland, Willis & Geiger Outfitters, and Penhaligon's:[33][34] they bought Penhaligon's in November 1987 for £1 million,[35] keeping Pickles as a managing director[36] and paying Zeffirelli £1,000 in Penhaligon's products each year, as a consultant.[37]

In March 1989, they became embroiled in a legal dispute with The Limited. Laura Ashley filed a lawsuit accusing The Limited and their Victoria's Secret division of trade dress, saying the Victoria's Secret perfume bottles and packaging copied Penhaligon's after The Limited unsuccessfully tried to acquire Penhaligon's.[38] In particular, the suit noted that Victoria's Secret Windsor Fern (1989) and Penhaligon's English Fern (1890) were both packaged in glass bottles with round stoppers, ribbons tied on the neck, and oblong labels with similar typeface, with the Penhaligon's label carrying the Duke of Edinburgh's coat of arms while the Victoria's Secret label had "Authorised Purveyors".[39] In June 1989, the two companies reached a settlement.[40]

By late 1989, Laura Ashley was having multiple problems affecting profits, and they divested or closed the newly-acquired brands that were not core to the Laura Ashley business.[34][33]

The Limited (1990–1997)

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In 1990, shortly after winning a legal battle with The Limited for plagiarism, Laura Ashley sold Penhaligon's to The Limited for £7.5 million.[41][42]

In 1997, The Limited streamlined some of its divisions[43] and sold Penhaligon's to Glynn Manson and Peter Kedge.[44]

Glynn Manson and Peter Kedge (1997–2002)

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Glynn Manson and his wife Jacalyn Bennett were co-founders[45] of GJM Group, a private label intimate apparel manufacturer whose main customer was Victoria's Secret.[46] Peter Kedge was founder of a warehousing and distribution company. When they bought Penhaligon's in 1997, it was still relatively small with four stores in the UK and sales at counters in a few exclusive department stores in the UK and US; annual sales were an estimated $16.2 million.[44]

Sheila Pickles continued to be its managing director.[44]

Fox Paine & Company/Cradle Holdings (2002–2015)

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In 2002, Fox Paine & Company, an American private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts, bought Penhaligon's as part of their Cradle Holdings, which also owned the Erno Laszlo skincare company and the French perfume retailer L'Artisan Parfumeur.[47]

Puig (2015– )

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In 2015, Puig bought the Penhaligon's and L'Artisan Parfumeur parts of Cradle Holdings.[48] As of 2026, Puig's fragrances are manufactured in Chartres, France, and Alcalá de Henares, Spain.[49]

Stores

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Penhaligon's store in the Burlington Arcade, London

Besides the flagship store in Covent Garden, locations in London include the Burlington Arcade, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, Regent Street, Mayfair, Kings Road, Islington, the Royal Exchange, and a second Covent Garden store has opened. A store is also located within Bicester Village.

Other shops have also been established outside of the capital in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Cambridge, Bath, Brighton, Bluewater, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, York, Liverpool, Portsmouth and Chester, as well as internationally in Paris, New York City, Hong Kong, Canada, Ireland, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Macau.[50]

Fragrances

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The following table lists the company's fragrances, some of which have been discontinued and others that have been reissued at various times.[51][4]

Year Fragrance Reissues Perfumer Notes
1870 Eau de Verveine 1949, 1999, and 2009
1870 Eau Sans Pareil 1988, 1992, and 2011 Beverley Bayne (2011 release)
1870 Esprit de Lavande

(also Esprit de Lavendes)

 1976 and 1992
1870 Esprit du Roi

(also Esprit de Roi)

 1976, 1983, 1992, and 2011 Bertrand Duchaufour (2011 release)
1870 Extract of Limes

(also Extrait of Limes)

 1963, 1992, and 2009
1872 Hammam Bouquet William Penhaligon
1890 English Fern William Penhaligon
1902 Blenheim Bouquet 1981 William Penhaligon Commissioned by Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough[7] and named after Blenheim Palace; this was William Penhaligon's last creation before his death
1910 Elisabethan Rose 1984
1910 Cornubia 1991 modern reinterpretation
1911 Douro Eau de Portugal 1985, 2004, and 2009 Michael Pickthall (2004 release) Commissioned for Percy Croft (1872–1935), of the Croft Port wine house, and named after the Douro Valley in Portugal; renamed Lords when Penhaligon's began selling it to the public in 1985; the name was reverted back again in 2004 and 2009 rebranding
1927 Eau de Cologne 1992 and 2010
1930 Zizonia 2001 and 2010 Christian Provenzano (2010 release)
1976 Gardenia 2009
1976 Lily of the Valley Michael Pickthall
1976 Primrose
1976 Night Scented Stock 2009
1976 Orange Blossom 2010 Bertrand Duchaufour (2010 release)
1976 Violetta
1977 Jubilee Bouquet 2010 Originally launched for the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
1977 Ormolu 1994; limited edition bottle in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II
1978 Bluebell[7] Michael Pickthall
1979 Victorian Posy Created for the 1979 The Garden exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum
1989 Racquets Formula Francis Pickthall
1996 Quercus Christian Provenzano
1998 Castile Olivier Cresp
1998 LP No. 9

(also Love Potion No. 9)

 Christian Provenzano Originally released as a Valentine's Day limited edition and named after the 1959 song, but added to their main fragrance lines due to popularity
1998 Neroli
1999 LP No. 9 for Men

(also Love Potion No. 9 for Men)

 Christian Provenzano
2002 Artemisia Nominated for a FiFi award in the Nouveau Niche category in 2002
2002 Lavandula
2003 Endymion
2003 Malabah
2005 Ellenisia Steve DeMercado
2005 Opus 1870 Named for the year the company was founded
2006 Lily & Spice Mathilde Bijaoui
2008 Elixir Olivia Giacobetti
2009 Amaranthine Bertrand Duchaufour
2010 Sartorial Bertrand Duchaufour
2011 Juniper Sling Olivier Cresp
2012 Peoneve Olivier Cresp
2013 Vaara Bertrand Duchaufour Commissioned by Maharaja Gaj Singh II to commemorate the birth of his granddaughter Vaara
2013 Iris Prima Alberto Morillas Created in collaboration with the English National Ballet
2014 Bayolea A reformulation of a 1978 bay rum hair tonic in their archives
2014 Empressa Christian Provenzano
2014 Levantium Christian Provenzano
2014 Lothair Bertrand Duchaufour
2014 Tralala Bertrand Duchaufour
2015 As Sawira Christian Provenzano
2015 Blasted Heath
2015 Blasted Bloom
2015 Halfeti Christian Provenzano
2015 Nineveh
2015 No. 33 Eau de Cologne
2015 Ostara Bertrand Duchaufour
2016 Alizarin Christian Provenzano
2016 Equinox Bloom Olivier Cresp
2016 Luna
2016 Much Ado About The Duke Daphné Bugey
2016 Oud de Nil Christian Provenzano
2016 Roaring Radcliff Daphné Bugey
2016 The Coveted Duchess Rose Christophe Raynaud
2016 The Revenge Of Lady Blanche Daphné Bugey
2016 The Tragedy of Lord George Alberto Morillas
2017 Agarbathi Alex Lee
2017 Agarwood Christian Provenzano
2017 Clandestine Clara
2017 Mister Harrod Loc Dong
2017 Monsieur Beauregard
2017 Paithani
2017 Savoy Steam Juliette Karagueuzoglou
2017 The Bewitching Yasmine
2017 The Ruthless Countess Dorothea
2017 The Uncompromising Sohan
2018 Belgravia Chypre Fabrice Pellegrin
2018 Changing Constance
2018 Kensington Amber
2018 The Blazing Mr Sam
2019 Babylon
2019 Cairo Christophe Raynaud
2019 Heartless Helen
2019 Terrible Teddy
2019 The Impudent Cousin Matthew
2019 The Ingénue Cousin Flora
2020 Brilliantly British
2020 Halfeti Cedar Christian Provenzano
2020 Halfeti Leather Christian Provenzano
2020 The Favourite Aliénor Massenet
2020 The Inimitable William Penhaligon Alberto Morillas
2021 Constantinople Christophe Raynaud and Marie Salamagne
2021 Racquets A modern reinterpretation of Racquets Formula (1989)
2021 The World According to Arthur
2022 Highgrove Bouquet Julie Pluchet
2022 Legacy of Petra Nathalie Gracia-Cetto
2022 Sports Car Club
2023 Eau de Audacity
2023 Liquid Love
2023 Vra Vra Vroom
2023 Solaris Aliénor Massenet
2023 The Omniscient Mr Thompson
2023 A Balm of Calm
2023 A Kiss of Bliss
2024 AIUla
2024 The Dandy Fabrice Pellegrin
2025 Daphne Bouquet A limited edition created to support The King's Foundation
2025 Fortuitous Finley Caroline Dumur
2025 The Cut
2026 Bold Blend
2026 Halfeti Amber
2026 The Manoeuvres of the Baroness

References

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Contemporary newspapers refer to him only as "Mr. Jeavons". The 1882 Post Office London Directory lists a William Millard Jeavons, hairdresser, with a cross-reference to the firm of Penhaligon & Jeavons,[5] and a notice to creditors in The London Gazette for William Millard Jeavons, hairdresser and perfumer, of Beaufort Street, Fulham Road, and gives his date of death as 4 May 1902.[6]

Citations

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  1. ↑ Groom, Nigel (1997). The New Perfume Handbook (2nd ed.). London: Blackie Academic & Professional. ISBN 0-7514-0403-9.
  2. ↑ "Wanted, a steady youth..." The Daily Telegraph. 21 February 1879.
  3. ↑ Allsop, Robert Owen (1890). The Turkish Bath: Its Design and Construction. London: E & F.N. Spon. p. 18.
  4. 1 2 3 "Perfume Houses Vol. P: Penhaligons". Perfume Intelligence - The Encyclopaedia of Perfume.
  5. ↑ Post Office London Directory, 1882. London: Kelly & Co. 1882. Part 2: Commercial & Professional Directory, p. 1020 – via University of Leicester Special Collections Online.
  6. ↑ "No. 27465". The London Gazette. 15 August 1902. p. 5356.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Jenkins, Valerie (18 March 1992). "Don't change a thing!". Evening Standard.
  8. 1 2 "A Brief History of... William Penhaligon". Penhaligon's.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Penzance Man's Death in London: The Late Mr. Walter Penhaligon". Cornish Evening Tidings. 22 February 1921. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "No. 27512". The London Gazette. 2 January 1903. p. 17.
  11. ↑ "Record No. 74674, Shops in Southampton Row". London Picture Archive. The London Archives.
  12. ↑ "Deadly Hair Wash Preferred". Daily Mirror. 15 October 1909.
  13. ↑ "Cornubia Penhaligon's". Fragrantica.
  14. ↑ "Cornubia". Oxford Reference.
  15. ↑ Osipov, Alex. "The Legacy of Michael Pickthall: Douro by Penhaligon's". Fragrantica.
  16. ↑ "History". Croft.
  17. ↑ "Past & Present". Penhaligon's.
  18. ↑ "Queen Alexandra's Perfumer". The Times. 15 February 1921.
  19. ↑ "Penhaligon's: Generals Hope to Attend Funeral of West End Hairdresser". The Evening News (London newspaper). 16 February 1921. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ↑ Browne, Valentine (17 July 1927). "The Londoner's Log". Sunday Express. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ↑ "Hair-Cuts for the Great: Lord Birkenhead Smokes in Barber's Chair". Liverpool Evening Express. 5 May 1927. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. ↑ Browne, Valentine (10 April 1946). "Headliner / Main With A Bag". Evening News. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. ↑ "No. 40674". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1955. p. 66.
  24. ↑ "Top hair-cuts". The Evening News (London newspaper). 24 September 1962. p. 6. One of the best-known old established hairdressers in the West-end, Penhaligon's of Bury-street, St. James's, whose customers include Prince Philip, are moving next month to merge with Truefitt and Hill, another top-rank hairdressers, in Old Bond-street.
  25. ↑ Zeffirelli, Franco (1986). Zeffirelli: An Autobiography. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 347. ISBN 1-55584-022-1.
  26. 1 2 Lorenz, Christopher (22 October 1985). "Penhaligon's new formula". Financial Times.
  27. 1 2 Pilditch, James (1987). Winning Ways: How 'winning' companies create the products we all want to buy. London: Harper & Row. pp. 53–55. ISBN 0063183919.
  28. 1 2 Russell, Rosalind (18 March 1992). "All roads lead to aroma". Evening Standard.
  29. ↑ Lucie-Smith, Edward (1983). A History of Industrial Design. Great Britain: Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford. pp. 224, 227–229. ISBN 0-442-25804-6.
  30. 1 2 Owens, Sarah (2008). Yes Logo: 40 Years of Michael Peters Branding, Design and Communications. London: Black Dog Publishing. pp. 80–81, 118. ISBN 978-1-906155-377.
  31. ↑ "Sweet smell of takeover". South Wales Daily Post. 6 October 1987.
  32. ↑ "Laura on the scent of success". Manchester Evening News. 5 October 1987.
  33. 1 2 Grant, Robert M. (2005). Cases to Accompany Contemporary Strategy Analysis (5th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-4051-2408-3.
  34. 1 2 Johnson, Gerry; Scholes, Kevan (1999). Exploring Corporate Strategy (5th ed.). London: Prentice Hall Europe. pp. 643–647. ISBN 0-13-080740-0.
  35. ↑ "Laura Ashley branching out". The Ottawa Citizen. 6 October 1987.
  36. ↑ "Picking up the sweet smell of success". The Independent. 5 October 1987.
  37. ↑ "Perfumiers scent a writ by Zeffirelli". The Express. 14 January 1993.
  38. ↑ "Ashley Suit Names Limited Stores". The New York Times. Reuters. 6 March 1989. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015.
  39. ↑ "Windsor fake drops Victoria in the soup". The Daily Telegraph. 29 June 1989.
  40. ↑ "Company News; Laura Ashley Suit". The New York Times. Reuters. 29 June 1989. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017.
  41. ↑ Bridges, Richard (3 July 1990). "Laura Ashley in £7·5m disposal". The Daily Telegraph.
  42. ↑ "Laura Ashley sale to rival". The Independent. 3 July 1990.
  43. ↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (4 September 1997). "The Limited May Sell Off Subsidiaries". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017.
  44. 1 2 3 "Top Notes". 11 April 1997. Archived from the original on 4 November 2026.
  45. ↑ Bennett, Jacalyn E.S. (10 March 2012). "Lingerie and Enlightenment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.
  46. ↑ Ryan, Thomas J. (5 August 1994). "Cygne to Buy Hong Kong Intimate Apparel Maker". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on 5 November 2026.
  47. ↑ Harrington, Ben (30 March 2007). "Penhaligon's owners hope to sniff out a buyer up to £40m". The Daily Telegraph.
  48. ↑ Weil, Jennifer (23 January 2015). "Puig Acquires Penhaligon's, L'Artisan Parfumeur". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020.
  49. ↑ "Puig boosts its industrial capacity in France with the sale of its plant in Chartres and the construction of a new headquarters". Next in Beauty. 4 March 2026.
  50. ↑ "Penhaligons | Penhaligon's - British Perfumers Established 1870".
  51. ↑ "Penhaligon's perfumes and colognes". Fragrantica.
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