Rigby & Peller
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | Seven |
| Services | Lingerie |
| Website | rigbyandpeller |
Rigby & Peller is an English lingerie retailer which holds a Royal Warrant of Appointment. The company was founded in 1939 by Gita Peller, a Hungarian immigrant who settled in London, and Bertha Rigby, an English corsetière, with a shop in South Molton Street in London's West End.[1] As of 2011, they had seven stores as well as a website.[2][3]
In 1960[4] the company began providing bespoke undergarments to the Queen of the United Kingdom;[5] they subsequently provided their products to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and other members of the royal family.[1] In addition to the royal family, the company has also sold products to Hollywood actresses, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson,[6] and musicians, such as Lady Gaga.[1] Another notable supporter of Rigby & Peller was magazine editor Isabella Blow, who would sometimes wear the company's brassieres as outerwear in public.[4]
In 1982 Rigby & Peller was purchased for £20,000 by June and Harold Kenton. They were assisted in the management of the company by their children, Jill Kenton and DavidKenton.[1] In 2011 Van de Velde, a Belgian brassiere manufacturer, purchased a majority stake in Rigby & Peller. Van de Velde, which paid £8 million for an 87 percent stake in the company, had previously supplied Rigby & Peller with some of their products. The cost of Rigby & Peller's brassieres ranges between £50 and £200[1] and they offer sizes up to a J cup. In the 21st century, the company has experienced some difficulty in competing with larger, better-known rivals and discount retailers.[6]
June Kenton has placed an emphasis on providing women with correctly fitting brassieres,[5] and the company was once known for its unique bra-fitting. (Other lingerie retailers have adopted similar techniques).[6] Although Kenton personally measures the royal family, she refuses to discuss the particular undergarments they wear.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wood, Zoe (17 August 2011). "Royal corsetmaker Rigby & Peller sold". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ "The Business On... June Kenton, Proprietor, Rigby & Peller". The Independent. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Bevan, Kate (26 October 2005). "Online bra fitting". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ a b Crowe, Lauren Goldstein (2010). Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion. MacMillan. p. 94. ISBN 0312592949.
- ^ a b c Dullea, Georgia (27 April 1988). "Of Corsets and Things Meant for Her Majesty And Ladies of Her Ilk". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Frankel, Susannah (2 November 2010). "Queen's corsetier hits hard times as bra wars intensify". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
External links