Whether you’re fishing, dog walking or just off on an adventure, sometimes a pair of wellies
are the only suitable footwear.
Perhaps the most famous wellies are Hunter Boots, known globally and respected by royalty.
But what is the story of Hunter and how did they become a staple of the modern wardrobe.
Here’s How it Happened.
The Wellington boot was thought up originally by Arthur Wellesley in 1817 who instructed
his shoemaker to use the Hessian boot and calfskin leather to design something versatile.
Hunter was founded back in 1856 by Americans, Henry Lee Norris and Spencer Thomas Parmelee
who arrived in Scotland with a patent from Charles Goodyear, who’d developed vulcanised
rubber in 1844 which was soft, pliable and wearable to make rubberised shoes and boots.
Leasing the Castle Mill in Edinburgh, the pair setup shop as Norris & Co in 1856, changing
the name of the business to the North British Rubber Company when the first limited liability
act was introduced a year later.
Whilst the plan was to make shoes and boots, the North British Rubber Company also made
hot water bottles, tyres and golf balls, employing 600 people by 1875.
Fast forward almost 40 years and the business was commissioned by the war office to make
boots for the soldiers for the first world war, manufacturing almost 2million pairs of
boots working 24 hours a day to keep trench foot at bay.
The quality of the boots meant that come the second world war, the North British Rubber
Company were again asked to supply products, this time also making gas masks, ground sheets
and tyres for military vehicles.
As the company had manufactured so many pairs, they’d begun to innovate and added thicker
rounded soles as well as a roomier fit to make the boots more durable and comfortable.
The North British Rubber Company then moved away from Edinburgh to a larger factory in
Heathhall, Dumfries to satisfy the increased demand from farmers and the wider public.
10 years after the second world war ended, Hunter released their iconic green wellington
boot in 1956, made from 28 individual parts and part of a collection of wider colours,
although at the time it took a while to become a hit with the public but it’s success is
evident given it’s still sold to this day.
The Green colour was deemed to be of a higher class, favoured by Britain’s upper classes
over the standard black boot.
It was favoured so much by the upper classes that it received Royal Warrants, one from
the Duke of Edinburgh in 1977 and another from the Queen in 1986.
A Royal warrant being awarded for supplying products to the royal households for at least
5 years.
Not only did the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh like the boots, but in 1981, they were worn
by Princess Diana in her engagement photos, the Diana Endorsement boosted demand, becoming
a staple for the Sloane Rangers off on their country getaways.
Their well known fans don’t stop there with Kate Moss seen wearing Hunter Wellies to Glastonbury
in 2005 as well as David Cameron gifting the Obama family a few pairs of Hunters on a presidential
visit.
But Hunter hasn’t always been high flying and successful.
The business has changed hands many times, leaving it’s position somewhat precarious.
In 1966, the North British Rubber Company was bought by Uniroyal Limited from South
Carolina.
Uniroyal was then purchased by Gates rubber Company in 1986 which was then purchased by
Tomkins in 1996.
Tomkins then streamlined the business, selling the Consumer Division, which included Hunter,
to Interfloor, and by 2004, an Investor Group bought Hunter from Interfloor with Hunter
officially becoming an independent business under the name, Hunter Rubber Company.
But after increased manufacturing costs, the Hunter Rubber Company went into administration,
just 2 years after the 50th anniversary of it’s Original Green Wellington Boot.
Hunter was saved by a private Consortium led by Pentland Group who took them out of administration
to form Hunter Boot Ltd.
In order for the business to stay afloat, Hunter moved production from the UK to China,
not the decision they wanted to make, but the decision they needed to make.
Since then, Hunter has continued to grow, now exporting a significant amount of product
to the US and introducing Hunter Original and Hunter Field for more technical footwear.
Their collaboration with Jimmy Choo also put Hunter back on the fashion map as a must have
for all classes.
Perhaps Hunter owe their success to Kate Moss who unknowingly boosted demand at Glastonbury
back in 2005, just as the company were sliding into insolvency.
Or perhaps they owe it to Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington who decided he
wanted a boot versatile enough to wear in battle, on the fox hunt or in the dining room.
Either way, for a business to last over 165 years, they must have been doing something
right.
And that’s how it happened.