Antler is a British company that has been designing and manufacturing luggage since 1914. The company is currently headquartered in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom.

History

1914–1930

The son of a famous bicycle seat manufacturer, John Boultbee Brooks founded Antler in Lancashire in 1914, producing leather wardrobe trunks for ocean voyages and unique motor trunks designed to be attached to cars. His interest in

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

prompted him to adopt a stag’s head and

antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

as the official brand symbol for the luggage line, which remains the firm's logo to this day.

1940s

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led Antler to start producing haversacks, webbing belts and

military equipment A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. After the war, the firm reverted to its original product line, introducing soft-sided luggage.

1950s

Tourism boomed in the 1950s as

air travel Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

became more accessible and affordable. Antler needed to adjust to consumer demands, with products that combined soft and hard materials and fabrics in one suitcase.

1960s

By 1965, Antler employed 400 workers and exported their products internationally .

Today

In 2010,

Lloyds Development Capital Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Limited (LDC), is a mid-market private equity house and subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, established in 1981 as Lloyds Development Capital Limited. From 1999 to 2011, it was known as Lloyds TSB Developme ...

(L.D.C.) backed a management buyout of Antler. Following this, Antler left its headquarters in Bury,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

in 2013, relocating to

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. This was followed by a number of changes, most notably the relaunch of RevelationLondon, Antler's sister brand, in 2016. In 2017, Antler was sold to Endless LLP. In 2020, Antler was sold again, to ATR Holdings, went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

in May of that year as the effects of the pandemic on travel took their toll. The company announced it was out of administration on 20 July 2020 as a new registered company, ATR Brands Ltd, trading as Antler. The new company's headquarters are on Dover Street, London.

References

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External links

Antler Luggage History
British brands Luggage brands