Russell & Bromley
Encyclopedia
Russell & Bromley is a British shoe retailer with a high-street retail operation. The business headquarters is based on Farwig Lane in Bromley
, Kent, England. The business has remained under the control of the Bromley Family since its creation over 120 years ago.
to work as a journeyman-shoemaker for prosperous Albion Russell of Lewes
. He fell in love with his employer’s daughter Elizabeth and in 1874 he married her.
Six years later the young couple took over the management of her father’s branch shop at Seaside Road, Eastbourne
and for the first time, the sign of ‘Russell & Bromley’ appeared above a shop door.
Until then only the Russells had been known as shoemakers – and highly respected ones in Sussex for more than fifty years. Elizabeth’s grandfather, John Clifford Russell had established his own boot and shoe manufacturing business in Cuddingly, Kent, about 1820.
For the first ten years of its existence the new Russell & Bromley shop at Eastbourne was part of the Russell family firm. Other branches were opened at Newhaven
and East Grinstead
.
The branch shop at Seaside Road was soon a flourishing little business. George did the actual shoe-making and selling; Elizabeth looked after the accounts and brought up their five children.
Elizabeth inherited the Russell & Bromley shop in Eastbourne in 1888 when her father, Albion Russell Snr, died. Her brother, Albion, inherited the three main establishments at Lewes, Newhaven and East Grinstead.
From that date the Russell and the Bromley family go their parallel ways in the history of shoemaking for another sixty years.
George Bromley’s health was failing and that meant more responsibility for his wife. F.R.B. left school and took charge of the shop, and did it so successfully that by the age of eighteen he was in complete control. To gain practical knowledge of shoe-making, he was apprenticed for a while to his Uncle Albion at Lewes. But he had already made up his mind that his future lay in the selling rather than the making of shoes, and that one shop wasn’t enough.
In 1897, George Frederick Bromley died, and young F.R.B. was head of the family, responsible for his mother, younger brothers and sister.
In 1898, when he was twenty-two, F.R.B. decided that it was time he went into business on his own account. He borrowed his first capital from the family and, with a little extra help from the bank, brought a small shoe shop in Tonbridge
. With it he took over the son of the former owner as his assistant, but moved himself into the living quarters above the shop.
The venture did so well that in the following year, when he was 23, he bought his second business in the High Street at Sevenoaks
, this time in the family name of Russell & Bromley. He managed both shops fairly easily from Tonbridge, while his mother ran the family home and the shop in Eastbourne.
At the beginning of the Twentieth Century the entire Bromley family moved from Eastbourne to a new and more centrally placed home at Sevenoaks and Elizabeth transferred all her interests in the firm of Russell & Bromley to her twenty-five-year-old son.
, then his first shop in Bromley
– at 21 Widmore Road. This purchase was something of a milestone. Whether his ancestors had originally come from the town is uncertain, but young Mr Bromley looked at Bromley with interested eyes. It was a growing and attractive town near enough to the fringes of London
for good transport, yet with a character and future of its own.
Since the expanding business of Russell & Bromley would need headquarters the town of Bromley seemed the right address. So in 1905 he bought a house for his mother in Wendover road and later a second shop in the High Street.
Because he already owned one business in the district, this second shop was opened in the name of his uncle’s firm, A. Russell & Son. Actually there was no connection between the two firms. The families were close friends and interested in each other’s progress, but commercially they were quite apart.
The Bromley shops provided Russell & Bromley with their first official head office and repair factory, and the family and the business have belonged to Bromley ever since.
Five years after he settled in Kent, F.R.B. married Miss Hilda Underwood. They lived first of all at Bromley and later at Orpington
, where their two sons Frederick Keith and Michael Cornish were born.
followed soon afterwards, and in the way of all family businesses, young Mrs Bromley found herself in the office replacing men who had gone to the front.
Later, in 1923 when the firm became a limited liability company, Mrs Bromley took her official place on the board as one of the first two directors.
F.R.B.’s young sister Elizabeth was already in the business, in charge of hosiery buying. She remained unmarried, living with her mother at Wendover, and except for a spell of war work in a munitions factory, she was to serve the company for nearly forty years. The tradition of a family business had begun.
Even with a war to cope with, the firm continued to grow. New branches were opened at Herne Bay
and Margate
, then Leytonstone
, Streatham
, Ealing
and Broadstairs
. Until just after the war F.R.B. had followed the same pattern with each new expansion. He brought an existing business, took over the premises, stock and staff, and invariably inspired them all with his own boundless enthusiasm and integrity. He seemed to have an uncanny genius of recognising the best shops and the best employees.
In 1920 he built his first entirely new shop, in Bromley High Street, and drew up plans for the rebuilding of the repair shop and warehouse to serve the widening circle of Russell & Bromley branches. By 1930, in spite of post-war depression, there were sixteen of them.
F.R.B. had started in the business in his early teens and had always believed in giving youth its chance so in 1936 he handed over control of Russell & Bromley to his sons Keith and Michael. They were in their very early twenties but already trained in shoe-making and management.
F.R.B. went with his wife on a series of fishing trips. Between journeys he kept a benevolent eye on the business until the Second World War drove him back to England where he died in 1943.
Under two new sets of initials, F.K.B. and M.C.B. , Russell & Bromley continued growing. By 1939 there were twenty shops some as far away as Southampton
, Clacton and Guildford
.
came most retail businesses were disrupted by rationing. Russell & Bromley, being in the South of England, had bombing as well. Three out of the twenty shops were completely destroyed and many others repeatedly damaged. Clacton, Margate and Broadstairs were evacuated and Bromley was a front-line town.
Clearing up and rebuilding followed in the post-war years and with it, in the F.R.B. tradition, more expansion … this time right into the West End of London
. The first London shop was opened in 1947 at the corner of Bond Street
and Conduit Street. The following year the company took over the English branch of the international firm of Lederer, famous for their leather handbags. With this deal they also gained their first shop in Knightsbridge
, and Russell & Bromley, after seventy years of trading, was installed firmly in two of the best shopping streets in the world.
In the history of Russell & Bromley the most important development was the taking over of the seven shops in the original parent company. The deal was completed in 1947.
Elizabeth Bromley (née Russell) lived to see most of the family successes. She died in 1937 at the age of 87, half a century after she had seen the first Russell & Bromley sign hung above her door in Eastbourne.
By 1968 it was decided to close up to a quarter of the branches. Although viable, they were either very small or situated in localities with little or no expansion possibilities.
Plans were also made to expand away from the south and concentrate efforts into larger branches situated in city centres. Manchester
, Leeds
and Southport
were soon to appear and then the first experience of shopping centres with the opening of Brent Cross
in 1976.
, Edinburgh
, could also boast a branch. Russell & Bromley was now a national company and, even more importantly, a household name.
The ladies collection includes many exclusive brands, alongside its own label, including Stuart Weitzman
, Beverly Feldman
, Donald J. Pliner and Aquatalia, and is complemented by an extensive handbag collection.
The men’s collection features traditional and classic styling through to modern fashion looks including brands such as Moreschi, Barkers, Lacoste, Sebago
and Panama Jack.
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Kent, England. The business has remained under the control of the Bromley Family since its creation over 120 years ago.
Early History
The Russell & Bromley story began in 1873 when George Frederick Bromley left his home in HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
to work as a journeyman-shoemaker for prosperous Albion Russell of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
. He fell in love with his employer’s daughter Elizabeth and in 1874 he married her.
Six years later the young couple took over the management of her father’s branch shop at Seaside Road, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
and for the first time, the sign of ‘Russell & Bromley’ appeared above a shop door.
Until then only the Russells had been known as shoemakers – and highly respected ones in Sussex for more than fifty years. Elizabeth’s grandfather, John Clifford Russell had established his own boot and shoe manufacturing business in Cuddingly, Kent, about 1820.
For the first ten years of its existence the new Russell & Bromley shop at Eastbourne was part of the Russell family firm. Other branches were opened at Newhaven
Newhaven, East Sussex
Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...
and East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
.
The branch shop at Seaside Road was soon a flourishing little business. George did the actual shoe-making and selling; Elizabeth looked after the accounts and brought up their five children.
Elizabeth inherited the Russell & Bromley shop in Eastbourne in 1888 when her father, Albion Russell Snr, died. Her brother, Albion, inherited the three main establishments at Lewes, Newhaven and East Grinstead.
From that date the Russell and the Bromley family go their parallel ways in the history of shoemaking for another sixty years.
Frederick Bromley
The eldest of the Bromley children was Frederick, or F.R.B. as he became known in the great business he created. He had been born and brought up in the shoe trade and he was twelve years old when his parents inherited their branch shop. When he began to take an interest in its financial affairs nobody knows, but a year or so later when the Bromleys moved from their small shop to better premises in Gilgredge Road, he was helping his mother with the bookkeeping.George Bromley’s health was failing and that meant more responsibility for his wife. F.R.B. left school and took charge of the shop, and did it so successfully that by the age of eighteen he was in complete control. To gain practical knowledge of shoe-making, he was apprenticed for a while to his Uncle Albion at Lewes. But he had already made up his mind that his future lay in the selling rather than the making of shoes, and that one shop wasn’t enough.
In 1897, George Frederick Bromley died, and young F.R.B. was head of the family, responsible for his mother, younger brothers and sister.
In 1898, when he was twenty-two, F.R.B. decided that it was time he went into business on his own account. He borrowed his first capital from the family and, with a little extra help from the bank, brought a small shoe shop in Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
. With it he took over the son of the former owner as his assistant, but moved himself into the living quarters above the shop.
The venture did so well that in the following year, when he was 23, he bought his second business in the High Street at Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
, this time in the family name of Russell & Bromley. He managed both shops fairly easily from Tonbridge, while his mother ran the family home and the shop in Eastbourne.
At the beginning of the Twentieth Century the entire Bromley family moved from Eastbourne to a new and more centrally placed home at Sevenoaks and Elizabeth transferred all her interests in the firm of Russell & Bromley to her twenty-five-year-old son.
The Move to Bromley
F.R.B. bought a fourth business in St LeonardsSt Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, then his first shop in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
– at 21 Widmore Road. This purchase was something of a milestone. Whether his ancestors had originally come from the town is uncertain, but young Mr Bromley looked at Bromley with interested eyes. It was a growing and attractive town near enough to the fringes of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for good transport, yet with a character and future of its own.
Since the expanding business of Russell & Bromley would need headquarters the town of Bromley seemed the right address. So in 1905 he bought a house for his mother in Wendover road and later a second shop in the High Street.
Because he already owned one business in the district, this second shop was opened in the name of his uncle’s firm, A. Russell & Son. Actually there was no connection between the two firms. The families were close friends and interested in each other’s progress, but commercially they were quite apart.
The Bromley shops provided Russell & Bromley with their first official head office and repair factory, and the family and the business have belonged to Bromley ever since.
Five years after he settled in Kent, F.R.B. married Miss Hilda Underwood. They lived first of all at Bromley and later at Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, where their two sons Frederick Keith and Michael Cornish were born.
WWI and Increased Expansion
World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
followed soon afterwards, and in the way of all family businesses, young Mrs Bromley found herself in the office replacing men who had gone to the front.
Later, in 1923 when the firm became a limited liability company, Mrs Bromley took her official place on the board as one of the first two directors.
F.R.B.’s young sister Elizabeth was already in the business, in charge of hosiery buying. She remained unmarried, living with her mother at Wendover, and except for a spell of war work in a munitions factory, she was to serve the company for nearly forty years. The tradition of a family business had begun.
Even with a war to cope with, the firm continued to grow. New branches were opened at Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
and Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
, then Leytonstone
Leytonstone
Leytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
, Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
and Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
. Until just after the war F.R.B. had followed the same pattern with each new expansion. He brought an existing business, took over the premises, stock and staff, and invariably inspired them all with his own boundless enthusiasm and integrity. He seemed to have an uncanny genius of recognising the best shops and the best employees.
In 1920 he built his first entirely new shop, in Bromley High Street, and drew up plans for the rebuilding of the repair shop and warehouse to serve the widening circle of Russell & Bromley branches. By 1930, in spite of post-war depression, there were sixteen of them.
F.R.B. had started in the business in his early teens and had always believed in giving youth its chance so in 1936 he handed over control of Russell & Bromley to his sons Keith and Michael. They were in their very early twenties but already trained in shoe-making and management.
F.R.B. went with his wife on a series of fishing trips. Between journeys he kept a benevolent eye on the business until the Second World War drove him back to England where he died in 1943.
Under two new sets of initials, F.K.B. and M.C.B. , Russell & Bromley continued growing. By 1939 there were twenty shops some as far away as Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Clacton and Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
.
WWII, London and Lederer
When World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
came most retail businesses were disrupted by rationing. Russell & Bromley, being in the South of England, had bombing as well. Three out of the twenty shops were completely destroyed and many others repeatedly damaged. Clacton, Margate and Broadstairs were evacuated and Bromley was a front-line town.
Clearing up and rebuilding followed in the post-war years and with it, in the F.R.B. tradition, more expansion … this time right into the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. The first London shop was opened in 1947 at the corner of Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
and Conduit Street. The following year the company took over the English branch of the international firm of Lederer, famous for their leather handbags. With this deal they also gained their first shop in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, and Russell & Bromley, after seventy years of trading, was installed firmly in two of the best shopping streets in the world.
In the history of Russell & Bromley the most important development was the taking over of the seven shops in the original parent company. The deal was completed in 1947.
Elizabeth Bromley (née Russell) lived to see most of the family successes. She died in 1937 at the age of 87, half a century after she had seen the first Russell & Bromley sign hung above her door in Eastbourne.
60s and 70s
The present Head Office and Warehousing are situated in Bromley, having been officially opened by Mrs Hilda Bromley in 1959. Once established, this was quickly followed by a series of important decisions taken during the 60’s and 70’s. First of all, F.K.B.’s children decided not to enter the business but M.C.B.’s three children decided to do so. Nicola was the company’s Press Officer, Peter was the company’s Chairman and Roger combined his position as Managing Director with that of Ladies Buyer.By 1968 it was decided to close up to a quarter of the branches. Although viable, they were either very small or situated in localities with little or no expansion possibilities.
Plans were also made to expand away from the south and concentrate efforts into larger branches situated in city centres. Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
were soon to appear and then the first experience of shopping centres with the opening of Brent Cross
Brent Cross
Brent Cross is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located near the A41 Brent Cross Flyover over the A406 North Circular Road. Brent Cross is best known for its shopping centre and the proposed Brent Cross Cricklewood development....
in 1976.
1980s
By 1981 Princes StreetPrinces Street
Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, could also boast a branch. Russell & Bromley was now a national company and, even more importantly, a household name.
Present Day
Russell & Bromley currently has around 40 branches, many with separate Children's Departments. There are also 4 stand alone Chidren's Branches.The ladies collection includes many exclusive brands, alongside its own label, including Stuart Weitzman
Stuart Weitzman
Stuart A. Weitzman is the designer of the international, high-end shoe company, Stuart Weitzman.Stuart Weitzman's trademark use of unique materials , and his attention to detail, garnered him and his company a global following...
, Beverly Feldman
Beverly Feldman
Beverly Feldman, is a shoe designer who has been described as "the most successful woman shoe designer in the world". She was born and raised in Massachusetts and trained as a shoe illustrator and designer at New York's Pratt Institute graduating in 1965....
, Donald J. Pliner and Aquatalia, and is complemented by an extensive handbag collection.
The men’s collection features traditional and classic styling through to modern fashion looks including brands such as Moreschi, Barkers, Lacoste, Sebago
Sebago (company)
Sebago is a Michigan-based company that produces a large variety of upscale boating shoes and dress shoes. The company was founded in 1946.During the 1980s the Sebago "Docksides" become a huge fashion trend that hit universities and high schools across the country. It was also the official supplier...
and Panama Jack.