Launer London
IndustryLuxury goods
Founded1940
FounderSam Launer
Headquarters
Warlingham, Croydon
,
United Kingdom
ProductsHandbags
Websitelauner.com

Launer London is a British manufacturer of luxury handbags and other small leather goods founded in 1940 by Sam Launer, who emigrated to London from Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. The company first sold a handbag to a member of the British royal family in 1950 and subsequently was awarded a royal warrant by Queen Elizabeth II.

History

Launer London, Holtshill Lane, Walsall

In 1940, Sam Launer founded Launer London, and began making handbags in a small rented workshop in London's Soho district.[1] He had left Czechoslovakia after it was occupied by Germany early in the Second World War.[1] Launer died in 1955, and the company remained a family business until Gerald Bodmer purchased the company in 1981.[1]

In 2011, Launer started producing bags in colours other than their traditional black, brown, and navy.[1]

By 2019 turnover had risen 167% since the 2011 figure of £1.5 million.[1] For the 52 weeks of 2018 Launer reported a 23% increase in turnover to £4 million.[1]

Royal warrant

Queen Elizabeth II with a Launer bag in 2015

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother first purchased a Launer bag in the 1950s, and later gave one to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.[2]

In 1968, Launer London were given a royal warrant by The Queen.[2][3][4] She had bought more than 200 of their bags by 2019, according to CEO and owner Gerald Bodmer; and her three favourites appear to have been a black leather Royale, a black patent Traviata, and a third custom-made bag.[2][5] She also kept all of her mother's Launer bags, according to Bodmer.[2] The Traviata is Launer's bestselling design, partly due to the influence of The Queen;[2] it is handmade in Walsall in the West Midlands, and sold for about £1,800 in 2019.[4][6]

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher regularly carried a Launer handbag, which was remarked upon as a characteristic. Gerald Bodmer first sent her one after seeing a cartoon of Thatcher whacking Argentina with her bag at the time of the Falklands War.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fish, Isabella (19 March 2019). "Exclusive: Rise in revenue at Launer London". Drapers. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Foussianes, Chloe (9 January 2019). "Queen Elizabeth Has Carried the Same Three Launer Bags for Years, Because Like Her They Improve with Age". Town & Country.
  3. ↑ "A handbag fit for the Queen and made in the Black Country". BBC News. 21 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Royal Family Christmas pudding photos: Five things to spot". BBC News. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Escobar, Sam (1 April 2016). "The Queen Owns 200 Purses From This Brand". Harper's Bazaar. And wait 'til you see how much just one costs.
  6. ↑ Hardman, Robert (2018). Queen of the World. New York, London: Random House, Century. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4735-4964-7.
  7. ↑ Moss, Victoria (27 November 2020). "How Margaret Thatcher Turned Her Handbags Into A Weapon". British Vogue.

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