A family-owned leather goods maker in Walsall is bucking a sharp decline in British manufacturing by keeping handmade production at home, even as the wider industry has shrunk dramatically. Ettinger, which holds royal warrants supplying King Charles and Queen Camilla, employs about 20 people at its factory, a site of leather production since the 1890s, with a handful more working from home. The company's chief executive Robert Ettinger said the vast majority of its manufacturing process has to be done by hand. "You can't bring in robots," he explained. The brand makes wallets, pill containers, cigar cases, picture frames and dog accessories, all of which can be personalised with initials.
The leather goods industry in the UK has contracted sharply. The sector employed 37,000 people 30 years ago but now has just 7,000 workers. Walsall, historically a centre of leather-working since the middle ages, saw about 50 manufacturers operating there by 1970, when the town produced around half of British-made fancy leather goods according to the Wolverhampton Heritage and History Society. Today only a handful of firms remain, including Launer, whose customers included the late Queen Elizabeth II, bridle maker J&E Sedgwick, and small goods firm E Hulme founded in the 1920s. Even Walsall's leather museum, housed in a former factory dating to the 1880s, is now closed. Ettinger itself cut staff numbers by about seven after the Covid pandemic hit trade.
Robert Ettinger, whose father founded the company in 1934 after fleeing Nazi Germany, said he never seriously considered moving production overseas despite most customers coming from outside the UK. "We might have made more profit, but then we would also have much more competition because when you've got 50 companies bringing in a purse from the far east, then it's all about price," he said. The company positions itself between high street and big luxury labels, selling a hand-crafted leather tote bag for just under £800, compared with more than £2,000 charged by Louis Vuitton.
The bet on staying British appears to be working. Online sales are up 30 per cent on last year and UK sales have risen by a fifth, with shoppers ranging from their early 20s onwards. Ettinger said younger customers increasingly appreciate items that will last 15 to 20 years and can be repaired, rather than fashion that goes out of style in three months. "A purse or wallet for £200 or £300, it's the price of some trainers and they're not made in the UK," he said. However, expanding production in the UK faces obstacles. Factory manager Gary Billingham said it is hard to find and train new staff, noting the workforce ranges from their 40s to 60s. Even people attending Walsall's Leather Skills Centre are more likely to pursue car upholstery or saddle-making.
Ettinger suggested the UK should adopt the continental European apprenticeship model his father introduced him to, where young people spend several years learning a trade before taking exams to become masters. "We don't have that here. So, it's harder for us to take on younger people," he said, though he expressed optimism about future prospects. "People might go into jobs which they don't really enjoy or get bored of doing, and then they join us, and you know, it's like a family in our factory."