Dunhill: Difference between revisions

Highly innovative, Alfred starts his new journey in 1907, exploring his other interests by opening a cigar and tobacco shop in London on Duke Street-31A. It would take three years for Dunhill to start his pipe manufacturing, in the meantime, commercialized third-party pipes (French and, lastly, Charatan).

Alfred did not know much about the tobacco business, but was learning as he dealt with his clients. Of keen sensitivity, he soon realized that most of the pipes available in the market were of low quality and that he could commercialize better quality products at twice the price. In the early days Alfred faced some financial problems, like most traders at the beginning of their ventures. Your tobacco shop wasn't the only one in the area. There was strong competition, but short of the average quality expected by the public. Alfred explored this market deficiency and established a new standard of quality and service.

At first, the focus was on the tobaccos. As he himself defined in his first catalog, published in 1910, called  "About Smoke ", he was an expert in making blends, which he exhibited prominently in his entry window: "Tobacco specialist". Alfred Dunhill was a born merchant and when he opened his first tobacco shop, he knew exactly where he wanted to go.

In the following images, we have Alfred and his two assistants, with whom he shared the tasks. He used to go to the store every day in the afternoon. The second colour image (the third in order), is part of Dunhill's Centennial commemoration Set of 2007.

Each customer could come and create his own recipe, noted in a little book entitled “My Mixture.” This is a prime example of Dunhill’s ability to tailor itself to the customer’s needs. Developed in 1907, the Mixtures guide by Alfred Dunhill, the "My Mixture Book ", came to count 36,700 variations. Always attentive to the details, talked to all the customers and noted the preferences with precise indications.  

Alfred Dunhill however, was unsatisfied with the current quality of available pipes. The pipes coming in from France were highly varnished and consequently clogged the pores of the briar. They were simply not doing justice to his creative blending." Smokingpipes.com[http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/dunhill/history.cfm]

According to Balfour in: "Alfred Dunhill One Hundred Years And More", initially the Tobaccos were obtained from George Dobie & Sons, a manufacturer of blends located in Paisley, west of the Midland Valley in Scotland and also of some cooperatives producing Tobacco. Creating blends is more than just mixing sheets in different proportions. There are techniques to develop a mixture, for example: cooking, roasting, pressing, mattering, etc. and can hardly be made at the shop counter. After five years, in 1912, his youngest brother, Herbert Edward Dunhill (1884-1950), joins the business. He was an insightful merchant and is soon ahead of the company's financial issues (a function he exercises until his death in 1950), allowing Alfred to give his creativity in the development of new products.

Alfred was restless and wanted to always hone his products, taking him (in 1912) to leave the blends tailored in the background. It was when Alfred presented his own mixtures "in-house", they were: the "Royal Yacht" (Virginia), "Cuba" (Cigar Leaf) and "Durbar" (Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia). Products acclaimed up to the present day.

"Alfred opened a small factory of his own in 1910. He set down two principles that would guide the production of Dunhill Pipes. First, pipes would be made of only the finest quality briar, with exacting care by expert craftsmen. Secondly, the pipes would be priced accordingly; the customer would recognize the value of a superior product. This ran counter to the current trend of inexpensive pipes of poor quality that one simply discarded after a short while. The Dunhill pipe was made to last a lifetime and always with an eye to utility. It must smoke well and continue to do so with age. To this end, Alfred invented the aluminum ‘inner tube’ to keep the innards of the pipe clean. When the pipe became dirty the tube could simply and easily be replaced. Note, of course, that this innovation predated the widespread use of pipe cleaners.  

With the advent of the First Great War in July 1914, many of its customers ended up in the trenches of northern France, where Dunhill sent boxes of tobacco, pipes and hygiene items. Alfred sent the sealed boxes, declared and labeled "castor oil", which smelled strong and penetrating, to avoid miscarriage and ensure that it reached the front. Inside the box, in addition to the courtesies, Alfred suggested in a letter that some items would be shared with other officers. Invariably, these items were part of the parallel trade that existed in the theatre of war. In addition to French – obviously, there were Americans, Canadians, and Belgians (among others) in the region. The confluence of these factors favored the diffusion of the brand around the globe.

The company grew exponentially after the war. It is estimated that in 1914 Dunhill had sold 10,000 pipes, jumping to 30,000 in 1916, 134,000 in 1918 and 276,000 in 1921. In 1923 the international demand was gigantic, resulting in the creation of an exclusive export department. Dunhill also initiated numerous partnerships with Cuban cigar manufacturers, selling exclusive brands. With the success of his store in London, she expanded to new York in 1921 and Paris three years later.